Sorry, posted the wrong one! Let me know if you're enjoying this as I think I may have the next chapter ready to go. It gets intimate (just like PG-13 intimate) but this fic sort of just follows the natural succession of a relationship and the rest period between Adventure A and Adventure B. I'm working on the badass last one still, and want to get it to the point where I can post about every day like I used to. If you're not feeling this one as much and would like me to wrap it up and move on to the next one, let me know. I always love to hear what you think!

~Jem's POV~

I went to again check in with Seto's receptionist, prepared with the latest assignment. All of Seto's employees had the same indistinguishable uniform, but I could always tell it was her from the same disgusted look she gave me. Before it had been suppressed to a bit of rudeness, but today she was full outright. Before I could say anything, she snapped, "Mr. Kaiba said that you don't need to 'bother' with me anymore, you can just go up for your pre-scheduled times."

But I wasn't put-off by this. "Perfect," I said happily before I turned away, only catching a moment of her glare, and I headed up.

When I reached his office, I paused, pulling out his provided phone to check the time (assuming it would be synced to the Kaiba Corp. clock). I was two minutes early. I would wait. It proved to be the right decision.

I again looked around, accompanied only by the clicks of my heels. Then I heard a riled shout joined by a crash. Despite it being muffled and indiscernible due to his thick doors, it still grabbed my attention. A second later two security guards pushed past me, charging into Seto's office. Before the door even closed, they were struggling with a man and dragging him out. I stepped off to the side.

"You ruined my life!" the man roared back into the office.

Seto soon appeared in the door. He caught it before it closed, but progressed no further. "Escort him out, and when I say 'out,' I mean out of this hemisphere," Seto ordered, nowhere near as upset as the man. He then saw me, and I had his attention.

I stepped toward him, again coming between him and the door frame. His eyes stayed steady on me, and I looked up to him, stopping. "Didn't like him?" I asked.

~Seto's POV~

Here we were faced with the same scenario as before. What she had just witnessed would make my employees cower and scramble. It's something those geeks would disagree with and try to lecture me on, but not her.

The same anticipation from last time was there, but this time I didn't let it frustrate me. I dropped the door as I had done before, but this time, instead of letting my hand slide past her, I caught her side. I pulled her away from the door and spun her to my other side, pushing her against the solid wall. I scanned her. She looked divine. The dress she wore was delightfully form-fitting, but still held enough of her modesty to hide her from everyone else.

I had startled her and she had her hands up. It was defensive, yet clearly reflexive. It took her only a second to process, and then her hands gently came to rest on me. They ran down the front of my suit, roaming towards the buttons. She watched her hands as she caught my tie. Jem slid her fingers under it, then ran them up, straightening it after my altercation. She glanced up at me, seeing me watching her carefully.

She pulled at my tie, encouraging me down for a kiss. I allowed her two. As I pulled back she released her hand to smooth my tie. I pulled away simultaneously, returning to work. I left swiftly, making up for the moment I had allowed her, and she followed slowly.

Jem approached her spot, only to see the chair was missing. She noticed it off to the side. It had slipped my mind to put it back after the assault, but I had already gotten back to work. It was her problem now.

She simply looked back from it to me, then continued on. She came around to my side of the desk, then eased herself up to sit on it. I found I liked this better. Though it was harder for me to glance at her off to my side, it was much easier to touch her.

~Jem's POV~

I didn't go straight to the book this time. True, it probably did help him with his homework load, but I had a feeling that neither of us had found time just for a story. This is what we were hoping for all along. It was nice to know that he had wanted it, too. I watched him quietly as he worked, just enjoying the time. I allowed him to touch me, his hand resting on my knee.

His phone rang, again calling him away, but this time when he told them he was coming, he sounded much more agitated. He set it down harshly, standing.

Before he left, he bent a bit to look in my eye, both hands now at the sides of my legs. As he leaned in, he ran them up my thighs. When they went under the fabric, though just a bit, I tensed, but he didn't seem to notice.

It wasn't that I didn't like Seto touching me, it was just that I wasn't really comfortable or experienced in sharing my body with someone, not intimately like that. All of this happened so fast. Yes, I wanted it, but it seemed that Seto just let all reservations go and wanted all of me at once. He gave me no time to adjust.

He looked me up and down, leaning close to me. After a heavy breath, he said, "I'm expecting to see this exact image when I return. Stay right here."

I nodded hastily in my discomfort. I wasn't sure if he thought I was vigorously agreeing, was so caught up in himself that he didn't notice, or just didn't care that I was suddenly a tad uncomfortable. I felt his fingers claw slightly as he flexed, then just like an exhale they released, running back down over the tops of my legs as he drew away.

When he left, I turned to watch him. He hastily disappeared behind the door. When he did, I heard four beeps, like a passcode, followed by a click. This should have stirred some anxiety after being locked in my room for extensive periods when I was a child, but for some reason it didn't. My father had been controlling. Though I didn't doubt Seto could be this way, I felt he was more possessive with me. I didn't feel like he was locking me in so much as locking people out, denying them any potential access to me. I could appreciate that. Besides, he didn't seem to want to lock me away, not without him anyway.

I pivoted, looking around his office again. Off to the side, I noticed a model. Curious, I slid from his desk to visit it. I leaned my palms on the edge of the table, being careful not to disturb it as I looked it over.

I felt safe when I heard the four beeps and click again, not bothering to look up right away. I turned just in time to find Seto settling in his chair, looking at me as he leaned back.

I straightened, turning my body toward him. "What is this a model of?"

"The amusement park I'm working on, KaibaLand," he replied unenthusiastically.

"What is an amusement park, exactly?" I asked, looking back to the model. I leaned my hand again on the table and shifted my weight to align to the same side.

He narrowed his eyes.

~Seto's POV~

"You've never experienced one before?" I implored.

She shook her head. It made sense.

For a moment, I thought of taking her to KaibaLand but then dismissed the idea. Not only was it crowded, but crowds of Duel Monsters fans. "I don't think you'd like them."

She smiled sweetly at my thoughtfulness, tilting her head as she kicked a foot back, pivoting her toe into the ground. After another moment of studying the design, she returned to me. I wanted more of her but had a lot of work to do. Perhaps if I placed her in my lap it would ease the craving. I sat leaning back, utilizing the armrests to seem more welcoming.

I had never experienced this before, and certainly not to this extent. It was a part of me I had intentionally kept suppressed for a long time. I knew it was just hormones and had controlled myself. Then she came. She was distractingly beautiful, yes, but I could have made myself ignore her. It was those soft touches, when she placed a kiss on my cheek, when she was close enough for me to catch her scent... These were all sensations that had been too... pleasant. Each instance had pushed her further until she crossed the line into something that I wanted.

Jem stopped just before me, unintentionally teasing me. I eyed her lean curves before looking back up at her. With her pause, I reached out, leaning forward. I placed my hands on her waist, running them slightly up and down as I eyed her before finally letting them rest. I craved her, but I was starting to not mind it as much, not with the discovered pleasure when I finally indulged myself with her.

By feeding my craving, it eased, unlike before where the suppression enhanced it. I pulled her closer and turned her, placing her right where I wanted her. With her in my lap, I should be able to circumvent the longing to touch her and finally focus. Besides, when she was with me it took her away from anyone who might potentially take an interest in her. This wasn't something I was too concerned about, but I preferred to avoid it. Though I was competitive, I didn't want to compete for her. I just wanted her for my personal enjoyment. So she would stay right where I wanted until I was done with her.

Next Chapter: Unmarred

Kaiba had not wanted to presume, but had come to a dark assumption, an assumption that had not killed the secret hope that he had stubbornly clung to.