Remember when I said Jem and Tessa chapter? I lied.

Oh, and Merry Christmas.

Tessa's cheeks flared up to an untoward red, her embarrassment of the situation apparent to the two boys at the table and went completely unseen by Henry and Charlotte, currently discussing if he should be allowed near flammable substances after a glass or two of sherry.

Tessa's eyes flicked up from her plate, forcing her shoulders to relax and try to appear undisturbed. But they knew better.

'-I just ought to think that after 10pm that really working and-´

She was only half listening to what Charlotte was saying whilst trying to hack into a piece of ham with grace and dignity and not having much luck.

'-you see though my dear, when the mind is the most vulnerable-´

'What utter tosh! I should think not, besides-´

Tessa jumped at Charlotte's outcry, feeling her muscles tense up again as she sensed eyes on her. Breathing deeply, she stared down at her plate with wide eyes, feeling her stomach turn to knots.

They are conspiring. I can feel it, I just know, she helplessly pondered, knowing that with Jem's seductively cunning ways and Will's obvious talent in distracting her, even her strongest forefront of stubbornness wouldn't hold against the power of the parabati.

She was arranging small pieces of ham and bread on her plate, poking around with the cutlery when she felt the hand on her.

Tessa tensed up as Will's warm hand slid from her knee upwards teasingly pulling the fabric upwards so she could feel the cold draft against her lower legs. She refused to look startled in anyway and continued to push her food about with a stoic expression.

Will's devilish hand travelled further up her skirts, moving fluidly between the folds in the fabric before his fingers pressed down on her sensitive inner thigh. Tessa's breath caught in her throat and shifted in her chair and shot Will a glare from the corner of her eye.

What she did she- she definitely was not expecting.

Will's eyes were not in fact focussing on her, yet his eyes were trained on Jem's face. Tessa looked for long enough for his lips to quirk upwards in the corners before turning to face her.

This wasn't everyday Will. This was bedroom Will- with lust filled eyes and flushed cheeks. His tongue darted out to wet his lower lip seductively and Tessa had to look away, not being able to contain the quiet gasp which escaped from her mouth.

She went back to staring at her plate, the thought of food completely forgotten. Instead- she wanted to know what was happening to her. How did it come to this? She thought rhetorically, squaring her shoulders to try and dispel the tension that had formed there. How?

Her mind did her the liberty of reminding her, showing flashes of Will's hard body beneath her fingers, the memory of the ever-so dominant Jem teasing her roughly-

'Not now,' she muttered under her breath as her cheeks blushed enthusiastically, in keeping with the response between her thighs.

'Hmm?' she heard Jem's warm voice from across the table.

She reached forward to sip at her water left idly beside her plate in order to calm herself before looking upwards. Concentrating on not letting the tumbler slip from her fingers she quickly sipped some of the cool liquid, grateful for it calming her somewhat before setting in before her and letting her eyes slide to Jem's.

Jem's gaze was her undoing. If she had thought that Will's stare earlier was unravelling, she certainly had not experienced them comparatively. She inhaled sharply at the intensity of Jem's eyes, causing her to splutter.

His silvery eyes were piercing, she felt as if he had looked straight in to her. At the same time, she felt as if he had been mentally undressing her during lunch. He had one elbow propped up on the table and was twirling a knife in his fingers with startling accuracy as he regarded her.

Tessa began choking on her water, feeling her eyes tear up as she struggled for air and her lungs protesting within her as she gasped for air.

'Good heavens Tessa, you are not faring well today at all are you?' Charlotte's amused yet concerned voice came from the top of the table.

Tessa felt as if this were a good a time as any to rest her elbows on the table and heave for air- however unladylike it may seem, it felt like a good idea.

With her elbows propped on the table, she continued to breathe deeply to make up for her lack of oxygen. She wiped her eyes distractedly and cleared her throat hard and was feeling much better in general.

'Has that water got bones in it?' came a snarky comment from her right, intimately close to her ear. Will's breath was warm on her neck as his hand came up to rub comforting circles on her back.

'Oh, very funny,' she shot back in a quavering voice. She pushed her chair backwards a little, her body slumping forward so she was limp against the table. Will's hand ran in soothing circles around her back, his warm touch sending shivers up her spine.

Staring at the specs of dust on the floor between her shoes, she felt herself relaxing with Will's hand and the pressure gone from their combined gazes. Her 'staring at the floor aimlessly' plan was going spectacularly, until she caught sight of movement from the other side of the table.

Her eyes snapped to Jem's legs as he uncrossed them. Tessa's mouth dropped open.

Surely, such a small action should not be incurring such a response, she pondered as his hips rolled in the chair, throwing his leg elegantly across the other.

No. That is it. This is ridiculous.

She firmly placed her feet on the ground and thrust her chair backwards with a loud scrape against the floor. She slapped her hands against the table and scowled across at Will and then Jem. The Institute's lunch patrons fell silent as a firey-eyed Tessa with messy hair cast her eyes across the table.

'I-I've had quite a day. Thank you very much, but I will be retiring. For the entire evening,' she explained, smoothing down her skirts as she turned on her heel, ignoring the stares of amusement, plotting, disbelief and confusion as she made her way out the door and up the stairs to her quarters.

Sweeping down the corridors as fast as she could go without looking as if she were in a hurry, she hastened to her room. In all honesty, she was expecting Jem and Will to be on her tail as soon as she had left, but it appeared she was alone.

This left her with both a sense of relief and dread. Relief that she had time to gather her thoughts, but dread because the fact she was alone left the only option that they were plotting still.

Groaning, she pulled her own door open- refusing to allow herself to longingly stare at Jem's door as she knew she desperately wanted to. She huffed and threw herself onto her bed, pulling off her shoes and making herself comfortable.

After thirty minutes of silence as she stared off into space, she decided that she should most likely bathe so she would then again smell less like Will's aftershave, and more like herself again.

The hours had slipped away as Tessa pottered about her room. She finished the novel she had intended to weeks earlier, tidied somewhat, re-tidied, made the bed, bathed twice, organised her dresses in colour order; descending from lightest, ascending to lightest, in order of use and in favouritism. The latter did not take more than ten minutes because she could count the amount of dresses she owned on one hand.

She found herself again lying on her back on the bed. She had changed from her day clothes to her pyjamas and a robe, having had her dinner brought to her room because according to Sophie; she couldn't find anyone else for tea, so it was just Tessa eating that evening.

It was an awkward time in the evening. It was too late for a walk, yet too early for sleep. Alas, she lay in bed and felt her mind wandering back to the two people who had been plaguing and monopolising her thoughts for the past few days.

Jem's dominant side had surprised her, but the more she thought about it- the more it made sense in the grand scheme of his attitude. Will's actions earlier in the day still left her trembling at the thought, so she pushed that thought far back in her mind.

She barely had any idea how to act around either of them separately- yet now they were seemingly working together to make her loose her mind. Almost cursing to the Angel- she stopped herself for want of not picking up too many of Will's mannerisms.

Instead, she rubbed her face against her pillow and rolled onto her stomach with a groan. A wave of confusion washed over her; how do I handle them?

A door crashed closed outside and her ears picked up as raised voices wafted down the corridor.

'What on Earth?'

She rolled off the bed and slipped on some house slippers before opening the door to investigate. She looked up and down the corridor and upon not seeing anything or anyone, she shut her door behind her and was about to start to the kitchen for a snack when-

'Ah, good evening Tessa,' Jem's molten voice came from across the way.

Tessa looked up, gathering her robe around her as she saw Jem. His shirt was open and his pants had been pulled down to reveal jutting hip bones. She tore her eyes away from his lean figure to his face, his lips kiss bitten and his eyes alight.

Church weaved between his legs gently as he leaned against the door way.

'Having a pleasant evening?' he asked in an off-handed smug demeanour.

'Ah, yes- well. I had a bath, earlier,' she mumbled, gesturing to the door behind her. She silently chastised herself for the most insolent answer to a flirtatious question yet to be asked in the entire world.

'Absolutely superb, you're ready then,' he said, reaching for the door.

'E-excuse me?'

'Well-'

'Carstairs!? Get back in here before I-'

Jem's lips quirked upwards dangerously, his eyes igniting with lust as he listened to Will's spluttering rant.

'Threats, William? I should think not,' he replied over his shoulder, his eyes staying on Tessa the entire time.

Tessa heard a soft gasp from within Jem's room and then silence. She raised her eyebrows as Jem thoroughly undressed her with his eyes.

'Such a lovely robe Tessa, I may need to borrow this though,' he said, stepping forward into the light to pull at the sash keeping the front clasped. His silver hair caught the light as his nimble fingers loosened the tie and pulled it from Tessa's body without a peep of hesitation.

'Is- ah, is Will in there? With you?'

Tessa was frozen. Although she felt confident around Will earlier, all her will was lost when Jem looked at her like the way he was now. His pupils blown with lust, his hair falling over his brow as he regarded her; she took a deep breath and tried to relax.

'Come inside,' he purred, taking her hand and pulling her within.

She felt her feet moving beneath her, following Jem and his teasing gesture. His hand was warm and soft as he led her to stand at the foot of his bed. She heard the door click locked behind them, yet her focus was somewhat stolen by what was on the bed.

Will was sitting in the middle of the bed with his legs crossed in front of him in a state similar to Jem; ruffled hair, flushed cheeks but with his shirt lying discarded on the floor.

'Evening Tessa, are you going to join us for the evening? If not- I suggest some form of sleeping draught. We can get slightly, loud,' he whispered with a glint of mystery in his eye.

'Will, lie down,' Jem walked to the side of the bed with Tessa's sash in his hand.

'I didn't mean to,' he implored Jem, knowing what was apparently coming for him.

'A threat is a threat,' Jem said evenly, pushing Will down to lie on his back and securing his wrists tightly to the headboard. He placed some pillows around Will's head to cradle his neck from the strain of his restraint.

Jem pulled his stele from his pocket and grasped Will's hair and pulled upwards, revealing the expanse of untouched skin of his neck. He pressed the tip of the stele to his skin and Will bit down on his lip.

'What are you doing?' Tessa said in a slightly hushed voice. She was far from concerned for Will's health- Jem would never hurt his parabati- so, what was he doing?

'A little trick from the mysterious Far East,' he said quietly as he concentrated on inking Will's neck. A swirl of black ink sprawled against Will's pale neck beneath the tip of Jem's stele. It resembled nothing Tessa had ever seen before, yet she felt immediately attracted to it.

After a few minutes of silence, Jem pulled away and regarded his work.

'Well,' he said quietly. 'It should start working any second now.'

Suddenly, Will's eyes snapped open and he released a wanton groan into the quiet chamber. His hips rolled against the mattress, his arms tugging at the restraints as he writhed atop the sheets.

Tessa could not look away from Will's form contorting with an overwhelming amount of pleasure.

'This rune is only known to a small handful of shadow hunters, it was outlawed after overuse. It was originally used to mask the extreme pain of injury- when the healing rune was not enough to block the pain.'

'J-Jem, please- aah!' Will gasped as his muscles flexed and sweat beaded on his forehead. His hips rocked upwards, desperately seeking friction as his skin broke out in goosebumps.

'It brings about a tingling sensation, so even the slightest touch…' he trailed off as he extended his hand and placed it across Will's bare stomach. 'Pure ecstasy.'

A choked moan escaped Will's throat as he tried to curve away from the intense feeling. He drew in great gulps of air, his eyelids fluttering shut as his hips stuttered.

'Luckily, it keeps the pleasure in a moment of suspension for as long as the rune lasts. The bigger the rune, the longer the pleasure, see?' he gestured at the ink which was beginning to fade on Will's neck.

Tessa cleared her throat and blinked in what seemed the first time in an age. 'Y-yes, I understand,' was the sentence she could manage.

'Just, copy me,' Jem said, rounding the side of the bed. Tessa mirrored his actions, her legs weak and stabs of need shooting through her with every noise to come from Will's mouth.

Jem looked up and caught her eye, moving to kneel just beside Will's body. Tessa followed him and their lips were teasingly close.

'Ahh! Tessa! It's t-too much, please,' Will groaned loudly, his eyes rolling back in his head.

Tessa looked down to see her fingertips resting lightly against Will's chest. He whined low in his throat, his head dropping back onto the pillow behind him.

'Tessa,' Jem hushed, drawing her eye.

He held his hand a fraction from Will's twisting body lying between him. Jem's other hand slid up the side of her neck, ghosting his fingertips over the dark love bites he had left previously. His mouth quirked into a small smile, his eyes flicking back to Tessa's as he gently pulled her forward towards him.

Tessa leaned into Jem's touch, her body already feeling over sensitized by Will's frenzied gasps and moans as he continued to pull against the restraints, his eyes closing as his body jerked upward in pleasure, Jem's hand now lying flat against his shivering stomach.

Their breath was mingled, so close yet their lips so teasingly far away. Jem's sliver eyes pierced her and again she felt frozen to his will. His lips curled into a dominant grin, his pupils blown with lust.

He leaned forward again, his eyes flitting from hers to her lips before he ducked down suddenly and sunk his teeth into Tessa's soft neck, laving the bite with his tongue.

Her other hand flew up to steady herself, grasping Jem's bicep tightly as he began to paint a stripe from the hollow of her neck to her ear with his tongue. His tongue was doing dangerous things to her self-control after a long day of holding back; she let herself whimper as he continued biting softly at her neck. He pressed a soft kiss behind her ear before taking her lobe between his teeth and sucking hard.

Tessa's back arched, pushing herself into his hold further as her hand on Will's chest tensed. Her fingernails dug into his skin, the twist of pain and pleasure causing Will to buck his hips upwards, shouting out in pleasure.

His arms now hung weak above his head, his breath short and fast as he tried to calm himself.

Jem laughed darkly in her ear.

'Nicely done,' he complimented, running his hand up into her hair and massaging her scalp. 'Now,' he began, his lips whispering against the shell of her ear. He turned her head so she was looking down at Will on the bed.

He nuzzled her neck with his lips softly, watching Will from the corner of his eye. He looked down, feeling proud of their ministrations as Will's chest heaved; his eyes glassy and his hips rocking against the sheets.

'Tonight it's my turn to teach you a thing or two,' he smiled against her skin.

Tessa's eyes widened at the implications behind his words. Will breathed out heavily, trying to focus on his breathing and not the wall of explosive pleasure threatening to break over him any second.

He breathed in and out again, feeling the pressure ebb. The sweet torture was finally over- the rune had faded.

'Finished?' Jem said, running his fingers up and down Will's still quivering thigh.

Will nodded weakly, still shivering with the aftershocks of the outlawed ink.

'Good. Tessa,' Jem said softly, pulling her back to him, angling her lips upwards to his. 'Show me you can do better than the rune,' he murmured against her mouth. 'Make him scream.'

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