REVISED AUTHOR'S NOTE 2/23/05: Raiyne Nagakura (formerly Ayame aka Kaiba) alerted me to a mistake (oh, gasp) in this chapter, so I amended it and re-posted it. Sorry for any inconveniences.

I've also responded to reviews by yugikid, Phresule, and blue-eyes on my LJ (for this chapter).

Wow, I wish my RK fic were this popular… (that's not a hint, that's just a straight-up comment).

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, well, well… Threats do work. –Evil smirk-

Thanks to all of you who responded to my plea for reviews and reviewed! It was encouraging to open my mailbox the afternoon after I posted Chapter 22 to find two new reviewers already! I've gotten more reviews since then… Thank you so much for letting me know you're out there! I don't necessarily need constant reviewing, but a review once in a while just to let me know you exist is VERY refreshing. If you have the chance, please keep reviewing!

An apology to Ayame aka Kaiba: The thinking has returned yet again. And it will continue to return, again and again and again. I'm just a very brain-centered authoress.

I'm thinking of putting up a new personal website (as yet another place I could host this darling fanfic/epic), but that's still quite a ways away. Especially since I found out today I got a B+ in AP Bio first semester, and have thus kissed good-bye to expectations of acceptance letters from Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, and Pomona come April 1.

But hell, I got into UC Riverside with a Regent's Scholarship. Dare I ask for more…?

Updates to this fic will probably be slowing down a little, since I have yet to finish Chapter 33 and am still struggling with my RK fic (though I'm quite pleased with what I have so far). I have the chapters written, I just forget to post them while I'm online. Oh, and there's that little thing called high school… not that I do much anymore, since I'm a senior, but I have this bad tendency to procrastinate on the few things that I DO have…

Sorry, this note now seems longer than the chapter… -blushes- Gomennasai…

Responded to reviews by yugikid, littleslg, Kaiba/Joey/Bakura fan, Ayame aka Kaiba, and on my LJ.

Chapter 23: My Kitten

The next morning, the sun peeped through the silk curtains across the French doors and fell across my eyes. It was gentle enough to make me feel drowsy and remain in bed, but bright enough to keep my eyes open. I found that Seto's naked body was still pressed against mine, his arms wrapped around me just below my breasts. His head was resting gently against my neck and on my shoulder. His breath fell even and comforting on my bare shoulder, and his soft hair tickled my cheek.

I smiled happily. For the first time since the engagement, I felt content.

Seto woke up as I was dozing off again. He stirred, then began caressing my neck. I laughed sleepily and pulled away.

"Good morning, Seto," I murmured into his hair.

"Good morning, my kitten," he replied into my shoulder.

He finally sat up and stretched. I openly admired his beautifully built body, and he smirked at me. He collapsed back down onto the bed. "I don't want to get up. I don't feel like doing anything today. But I need to get back to Kaiba Corp."

"I don't think the company will fail without you there for one day," I pouted.

Seto sighed. "I don't think so either, but I have a big meeting today. The Board of Directors is conducting their yearly assessment of my performance and so forth."

"You have a Board of Directors? Who have that degree of control over you?"

He nodded slowly. "A remnant of my stepfather's reign. They're all still fiercely loyal to him, and would have taken over the company long ago if I hadn't kept it so lucrative. They want the power and prestige, so they stay on the Board, but they don't want to work hard enough to run the company themselves. And I can't dispel them completely, because then people will talk of my unchecked power over the company."

I smiled wryly. "Well go then. Take a shower and get dressed, and then come back."

He laughed gently, leaning over to kiss me. "Don't worry, my tigress. I'll be back as soon as I can."

After Seto left for the office, I lounged around. I lay sprawled on the bed for a few hours, aimlessly flipping through magazines. For a little while, I wrapped myself in a silk robe and sat out on the balcony, feeling the breeze lift my hair and caress my cheeks. I wandered out into the garden, still dressed in my nightdress and robe, winding my way through roses and violets and honeysuckle.

I was trying to come to terms with what had just happened. I had no words to explain what I felt, or why I felt it. But it was as if I suddenly knew how Seto felt. I knew that he was lonely, so lonely, and that he could never become close to anyone. Men were jealous of him and avoided him, or were like Joey and found him so aloof that they despised him. Women wanted him for his wealth and power. Only Mokuba accepted, or knew, who he really was.

All those months ago, when he'd told me that there was more in this deal than my company, he had been hoping that I could love him. He'd fallen in love with the girl who, instead of fawning over him and trying to seduce him, had narrowed her eyes and fought him. He'd fallen in love with her openness and honesty; she hid nothing from him, and let him know early that she was the one to be desired, not him.

I knew all this, and I knew that I loved him. And I couldn't explain it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Anybody care to take a gamble as to what happens next-Mischievous grin-

Oh, and keep checking my profile. I've finally decided to put the thing to use and actually give my readers information on when my updates are and how my progress is coming. Also, my LJ is a good place to check, since that's where I respond to reviews and post random daily updates (you'll know all about my numerous RK fic roadblocks, which I run across quite frequently). You can find the link to my LJ in my profile as well (if that link doesn't work, my username on LJ is fairymage).