 |  |
 |  |  |  |
Midnight...here. In a room full of his business associates.Seto Kaiba could be damned persuasive when he wanted to be, Tristan was finding out. Case in point: The black-tie New Years Gala. Business commitments required Seto to attend the soirée and while he knew Tristan wouldn't want to go, he did think it fair to mention that it was obligatory to kiss someone at midnight and he certainly wouldn't want Tristan to think it meant anything to him. The thought of someone else, some stranger taking Seto's first kiss of the year... pressed against the length of his body... kissing him... An hour into the party and Tristan was already uncomfortable in his rented tuxedo. Apparently parties at this level had themes and the one for tonight was black-and-white. The ballroom of the host's mansion was festooned with starkly tasteful sculpted flowers and the ceiling was covered in black, white and sliver balloons, their contrasting ribbons curling down like a forest of reverse tree trunks. Tristan recognized very little on the buffet table. Looking around the room, Tristan wondered, not for the first time, if there was an unwritten CEO rulebook for this stuff. He'd seen the invitation and unless there was some sort of invisible ink involved, the fact that everyone had simultaneously decided red was the accent color of choice was just spooky. Seto was beside him still and Tristan was amused all over again at the man's sense of humor. Together they made a negative and a reverse; where Tristan's tux was black Seto's was white, Tristan's shirt white, Seto's black, and Tristan really should have been surprised Seto owned a pair of white shoes but somehow wasn't. The man hadn't left his side all evening, Tristan would give him that much. On some level it was fascinating to see Seto moving through the glittering throng like a shark through water, but it was irritating as hell to feel as if he were trailing along in that shark's wake. He wondered a bit resentfully if he was going to be expected to remember anyone's name after tonight because that wasn't happening. Tristan had a blank smile and a nod all prepared... until the first time Seto had introduced him. "Mr. Gruder, good to see you," Seto greeted a portly man with a handshake. "Tristan, this is Mr. Gruder, President of Lux Incorporated. Mr. Gruder, this is Tristan Taylor, my partner." While Tristan stood unreacting for the second that took to process, the other man gave him a quick, speculative look. "Partner, huh? That's quite an unusual move for you Seto," the larger man drawled. Then he spoke directly to Tristan. "What industry are you in?" Seto moved in to reply. "Mr. Taylor and I are involved in several ventures," he said smoothly, "but he's more the silent partner type. I doubt you'll be seeing much of him but I expect you'll hear his name frequently in connection with my own." Numbly Tristan shook the proffered hand, and Seto moved them off to the next encounter. Seto was also ruthlessly calculating when he needed to be, Tristan knew this. He made sure they were never quite alone until Tristan had more time to internalize the way he was being repeatedly introduced, as Seto's partner. He wasn't given a chance to protest or even question and Tristan knew that was deliberate as well. Seto also knew better than to throw too many new situations at him at once. However he did it, whatever commanding aura he used to keep all but the most oblivious away from them until Seto was ready, Tristan neither knew nor cared, he simply reaped the benefits. Two hours later, Tristan was discovering the upside to the party. The later the evening wore on, the more alcohol the other guests imbibed. Tristan had only enough to be polite but he thought Seto might have had just one over the line, since a few minutes ago he'd shocked Tristan for the second time that night by sliding his finger over the curve of Tristan's ass in a lightning-fast move, initiating their infrequent game of 'touch-me-quick'. Here. In room full of his business associates. Tristan was glad there was a chair close by as the familiar heat blossomed. Seto whispered to him that they were all too drunk to notice, as long as they were careful. He looked into Seto's smirk and answered with his own devilish grin. It was close to midnight when Seto finally grabbed him by the hand and pulled him out of the room. They stumbled up a stairway and at the top Tristan finally regained his wits. As Seto quickly peeked into rooms in the long hallway Tristan protested, they couldn't do this, it was someone's house for God's sake, what did Seto think he was... Tristan's monologue was interrupted as Seto ducked into a room and pulled Tristan after him, thudding back against the wall next to the door and drawing Tristan into a deep, fiery kiss. Without breaking their contact, Tristan reached his leg out and hooked the door closed. The next few minutes were spent in a haze of heat and skin and desperate arousal. Tristan had somehow backed Seto against a long window on one side of the room, holding his hands in a loose grip above his head. Their jackets were both on the floor and Seto's shirt was hanging open to lay his flesh bare to Tristan's attention. Their panting was loud in the small room, echoing off the walls. It had to be cold against that window but Seto looked as if he could warm a room himself with the heat of the flush on his skin. "We can't do this here," Tristan managed to say. "No," Seto agreed in a voice low with lust, "someone could walk in on us." Seto's eyelids dropped to Tristan's chest and he licked his lips. "Any moment." Then Seto writhed against him and he was lost again. Later, when he could breathe, Tristan realized they missed the midnight kiss. Well, they may have been kissing at the time, he amended with a grin, but he couldn't say for sure. When Seto immediately reached out to draw him into a slow, tender kiss, Tristan was satisfied that when it came to Seto, he could be pretty damn persuasive himself. Back to Sorchafyre's Work E-mail the Author Home |
 |