A/N: Before you go psycho on my butt. NO SEBASTIAN AND TESSA ARE NOT PAIRED TOGETHER. Ahem, now that I got that off my chest. You may continue reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own kuroshitsuji.

Chapter Twelve

"He came back," I growled, slamming my hand down onto the counter top.

Sebastian didn't even flinch, though I saw his eyes flash a dangerous scarlet, "Who are we speaking about?"

My eyes narrowed, how dare he play dumb at a time like this. My anger got the better of me and I reached out and grabbed hold of the lapels of his coat, tugging him around so that he faced me. I knew that this action was considered very unlady like, but at the moment that was the least of my worries. Besides I was more demon than lady, such ideals only stuck with me because of my current lifestyle in the manor, otherwise I would be just like any other succubus, running wild with men.

Sebastian's signature smirk pulled at his lips as he carefully pulled himself out of my grasp.

"My, my," he chuckled. "Certainly are rather worked up aren't we, Tessa?"

I let out an angry breath and walked around the kitchen island so that I stood on the other side of the center counter from him, giving him no choice but to look me directly in the eyes.

"Sebastian, stop with this naive act," I snapped, taking care to keep my voice low enough so that any listening ears wouldn't be able to over hear. "You know very well who I am referring to. Or is it that you need a reminder, because I can certainly arrange something for you."

My threat to project my memories of the shadow person onto Sebastian didn't go unheard. He looked up at me a sneer on his face, making him look less like a butler and more of a demon. That alone almost sent the being in me running, but I stood firm and glared back.

"You won't be doing such things," he stated, his voice calm but deadly.

"You. Don't. Hold. Any. Control. Over. Me," I pronounced slowly, but angrily.

That was the wrong thing to say.

Before I could manage to blink, I was pushed up against the counter behind me. The small of my back dug painfully into the hard edge of the granite, while from the front I found myself pined down by Sebastian. His eyes were glowing scarlet and the slits for pupils dangerously narrowed as he leaned over me, keeping me trapped.

"I beg to differ," he chuckled darkly, running a finger along my jaw line with a softness that contradicted his dangerous tone.

I jerked my head away from the touch, but I knew I wasn't getting away so easily. A second later Sebastian had my chin in his grasp, forcing me to look directly at him. Mere inches were separating out faces now and his breath washed over my face, causing me to shiver.

"Now, now," he cooed falsely. "A pet that rebels against its master should receive the consequences."

I narrowed my eyes, I could only imagine what he was planning, "Such consequences shouldn't be dealt with when eyes are likely to be watching."

A devilish smirk pulled at his lips, revealing the teeth that had already reverted to their sharper state. I winced at the sight. Nothing like a look at a good set of sharp canines to scare the wits right out of you.

"Consider yourself lucky then. I'll allow you to get off easily this time."

I didn't dare release a sigh of relief, there was no way Sebastian was going to let me out of his grasp anytime soon. My punishment had yet to come.

And that punishment came sooner then I had expected.

Again, Sebastian surprised me by moving faster than even my eyes could track and captured my lips with his. My eyes widened into saucers as his lips forcibly worked against mine, yet even in the violence of the kiss there was a seductive softness that had me quickly answering back. I returned the kiss back in the same manner he delivered it. Whatever sort of punishment this was, I could care less as my succubus instincts came out.

His hands lightly ghosted over my figure, teasing my body. Unwillingly my arms wound over his lean shoulders, leaving my fingers to tangle in the silky black locks on his head. The feeling of it was familiar, a repetition of our past encounters, and slipping back into it was easier then I would have liked.

His tongue snaked out and ran across the bottom of my lips, asking for entrance. I didn't hesitate for a moment, before giving it to him. His tongue came into my mouth exploring the familiar contours of mouth before battling with mine for dominance. He won, of course, and explored my mouth some more before turning to coaxing my own tongue into his mouth. Sebastian tasted even better than I remembered. A rich dark taste that couldn't be described in human terms, but would've had anyone weak at the knees and craving more, no needing more of it.

The sound of someone entering the kitchen broke us apart, but even for demons we hadn't enough time to move very far. So when Finny stumbled in, he found us in the awkward position we had first began in.

"Huh? Mr. Sebastian...Miss Tessa?" Finny asked with a confused and curious look on his face. "What are you two doing in here?"

I almost pitied the gardener. He was so terribly innocent it was almost mockable. Any other person who could have walked in would have instantly at least suspected something that could have possibly ruined my reputation, but Finny simply didn't understand those types of things. Which made him all too easily acceptant of the lie Sebastian fed him.

"Miss Tessa's skirts simply got caught on the cabinet," Sebastian lied smoothly, stepping away from me. "I was simply helping to get it out without tearing the fabric."

Finny smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "Oh, well if that is all-."

"Was there a reason for your presences in the kitchen?" Sebastian cut him off, the tone of his voice frightening.

"Ah...," Finny trailed off, twiddling his thumbs before breaking out into sobs. "I didn't mean it, honest Mr. Sebastian! I got distracted and accidentally cut off all the branches on the trees!"

Sebastian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Very well. Leave it to me, but for the moment please go back to the gardens and clear the grounds of the branches."

Finny nodded eager to make up for his blunder and disappeared. I watched him leave before turning to Sebastian who was looking at me. His stare made me uneasy as I watched him roll the sleeves of his blouse down.

"That was a very enjoyable punishment," I mocked, hoping to hide my unease behind an airy facade. "It seems like you've lost your touch."

The smirk grew as he leaned forward, placing his mouth right besides my left ear so that I could feel the warmth of his breath washing over the sensitive skin there. I shivered automatically and had to reach behind me to clutch onto the counter in order to prevent myself from latching onto him.

"Oh? I believe your punishment has yet to come," he whispered darkly, causing a shudder to run down my spine. "Your succubus instincts will make this your personal hell."

I could see where he was going with this, but I refused to allow him to see the panic welling up in my chest.

"Do tell what you meant by 'my personal hell'?" I questioned, feigning naivety though by now I knew all too well what my punishment was.

He pulled back, moving away and picking up his black tailcoat from the hanger. Silently, and slowly, he pulled the article on. I watched on waiting for his answer, but slowly my attention was drawn to the way the coat fit his torso and from there tracing the lines of his body with my eyes.

Finally he spared a glance up, the smirk growing, "Not being able to get the touch you desire."

A low growl left my throat, causing him to chuckle as he went back to work. Damn him! Damn him to the deepest pits of hell! I was afraid of that. Of course he knew the exact punishment that would be prefect for a succubus. I knew very well that these next twelve hours were going to be my own version of hell. That kiss, though an innocent touch enough, would become the starter to the fire I could already feel welling up inside me. The need would eventually consume my mind if I didn't quench it and seeing as how that was going to be impossible I was doomed to dwelling in a want induced daze.

Sebastian grinned at me as he sensed my building panic and want, as he turned and walked smoothly to the doorway.

"And Tessa," I froze at the way Sebastian tauntingly called out my name in his smooth voice. "I know very well about our visitor, but at the moment he hasn't become a threat to our master. We'll deal with him when the time is right."

I snapped my head around to deliver him a sharp glare, but he'd already disappeared from sight, leaving me in the kitchen alone. I growled and kicked the cabinet nearest me, before retreating. My room would be the only sanctuary until this passed over.

My skin was already flushed with heat already and tingling with the lingering feeling of Sebastian's chaste touches to it as he had kissed me. The worst was already knowing what the feel of him felt like. That made the feeling of wanting that much worse. Said demon knew this and of course had used it all to his advantage. Leaving a succubus after teasing her caused the worst pain to her ever imaginable. The feeling of needing touch and not being able to quench it, no human could possibly understand the feeling.

I stumbled into my room and shut the door behind me, only pausing for a moment to slide the bolt home though I knew such a thing wouldn't be able to keep half the servants in this house out. Collapsing onto the bed, I curled into a ball my breathing already picking up in speed and becoming more shallow.

"Damn you, Sebastian," I mumbled hoarsely, as I curled in on my stomach when a particularly strong jolt of pain swept over my body. "You...You're going to...get...hell when...I'm...f-finally...am...a-aware."

I ground my teeth a hiss escaping them as I curled into myself more. The edges of my mind were already becoming hazy, as was my sight as well. Emotions and feelings began to slip away along with rational thoughts, each dropping away from like round, glass marbles falling to the floor. All I could comprehend at this point was want, need, and hunger. I growled and bit down on my bottom lip, blood pooling slowly at the pink flesh as I let out a rather unbecoming whine.

My eyes fluttered open slowly and I rolled over, wincing in disgust when I felt the sweat soaked fabric of my dress cling to my skin. Though other than being sweaty and a tab bit disoriented I was perfectly fine, which was more than I could say for the other times I've had similar experiences.

First priority was to get a bath and get changed out of this dress, which was ruined thanks to Sebastian. That demon now owed me a new gown. Scowling, I walked to the other end of my room and took a dress at random from out of the closet before disappearing into the connecting bath in my chambers. It was a large step up from the servants' baths. A large marble tub sat dead center of the room with gold faucets and detailing, seemingly growing from the flooring which was made of a similar cream colored marble. I dropped my clean gown onto the smooth counter top and quickly dropped the gown I was wearing from my body, before drawing warm water for a quick bath.

As soon as the tub was full I submerged myself into the warm water and began to lather myself up with rose scented soaps and oils. It felt good to clean my skin from all the sweat and dirt, through mainly sweat for I hadn't been outside much since beginning to pretend to be Ciel's sister.

All too soon I removed myself from the water and quickly dried myself off. I turned and grabbed the gown after placing on the necessary undergarments and pulled it up, quickly lacing up the corset tightly. It was a pretty gown, though not one I had bought for myself. A dark lavender color made up the main part of the skirts and corset. Alternating in colors between black, a light lavender, a dark lavender, and a deep purple the corset was stripped and cut off the laced black sleeves which ended just under my elbows. The front of the skirts had a sheer black fabric draped elegantly over the dark lavender, while the back of the skirts were in tiers alternating between the sheer black fabric and the dark lavender. I paused for a moment to play with the skirts before pulling my hair up into a simple, yet elegant, bun and clasped a simple black lace chocker around my neck.

Then came my second priority, to go downstairs and annoy Sebastian as much as possible for the rest of the afternoon.

Gliding down the stairwell, I smiled upon noticing that the sun was peeking through the windows at the front of the manor which could only mean that it was only just morning. Sebastian would be so upset upon hearing that my punishment hadn't lasted as long as he had expected it to.

Listening to the gentle sound of china clicking together and silver wear work against dishes, I followed the noise to the dining room where Sebastian stood besides the young master while the foreign prince and him ate their breakfast.

None of them took any notice to my entrance.

"Won't my sister be joining us?" Ciel asked, not bothering to glance up from his plate as he directed his question to Sebastian. The boy's tone was as emotionless and flat as ever, but I couldn't help but hear the flare of annoyance at my daring to be absent.

"I'm afraid the mistress has caught a fever," he replied smoothly, before I interrupt him with a cough.

"I fear you are mistake, Sebastian," I smiled prettily, curtsying to the other two males in the room before taking my seat at the center of the table in between Ciel and Soma who both sat at the heads. "I haven't got any fever, in fact I'm doing just splendid today."

Sebastian expression hardened ever so slightly, "Well isn't that just lovely to hear, Miss Phantomhive."

I gave him my signature sugary sweet smile, "Thank you for your concern though. Now won't you be a doll and serve me some food as well, Sebastian."

Both of us knew I had no need for the food as substance to keep my living and that I was just doing it to vex him, but being the good butler he posed as, Sebastian didn't hesitate in bringing over over the exact replication of the food he had served to his master and Soma. I smiled and mumbled a polite thank you, grinning the entire time.

"Now do tell what the plans are for today, Ciel?" I asked, turning my attention to the boy at the head of the table.

Ciel didn't bother looking up, "Most of the household will be attending the curry contest this afternoon. Sebastian shall be taking part in it and will go against Soma's servant, but you are free to do as you want if you do not wish to attend."

I nodded my understanding, this was the perfect opportunity to research what I could on our mysterious visitor without Sebastian or Ciel knowing. With both preoccupied at the competition, I would be free to wonder through London in search of some answers and still be back at the manor before either returned. I grinned to myself and took a bite of the food in front of me, not really paying attention to what I was putting into my mouth.

"Very well," I stated after I'd swallowed and took a sip of the tea before me. "Then I hope you won't mind my missing it. I have some business in town to attend to and I fear I can no longer push it off."

Ciel nodded, "Very well."