Chapter 24: Diamond

Shortly after Seto shucked his underpants and got comfortable on the couch, he realized that the soundproofing in Mokuba's luxury condo would prevent practically all noise from leaking through the bedroom walls. He had been invited to listen, though.

Seto picked up his phone and accessed Mokuba's implanted duel disk. In lieu of the bulky holographic projection technology that had initially made Seto Kaiba a household name, Mokuba, Seto, and a few top-ranked duelists who could afford them carried voice-activated implants linked to vaulted Duel Monsters card decks that they could duel with anywhere at any time.

Although Mokuba himself rarely dueled, Seto had insisted on implanting Mokuba with the device as a tracking mechanism in the event of future kidnappings. Even though it had been years since someone had so much as attempted to kidnap Mokuba, the measure comforted Seto. The implant not only transmitted Mokuba's location but picked up on his heartbeat and all surrounding noise, which could be filtered and processed digitally to pick up human voices or anything else of significance.

Seto adjusted the volume of Mokuba's rapid heartbeat down to a reasonable level and brought the voices up to full volume. Seto's own heart sped up in response to his brother's as he imagined every caress of her fingers over his skin.

"Don't hold back."

Joan's voice sprung Seto's cock to full attention. He began stroking, and moans followed. What is she doing to him? More importantly, what is he doing to her? She wasn't nearly that vocal before.

"Lay back. I got this," Joan's voice came again.

Seto closed his eyes and his mind conjured an image of his whore slipping a condom on his brother, almost as if it were happening right in front of him. A wave of nostalgia over his first time swept over him as he imagined Joan mounting Mokuba. Although faint, he heard a gasp from Mokuba and knew it was the very moment he entered her. Mokuba was truly a man in Seto's eyes now. Pride flooded Seto's heart as the moans ascended in pitch. He must be giving her the ride of her life.

Seto stroked himself to completion, bliss bursting through his diamond-hard loins.

The moans subsided and Seto heard them talking again. He left his phone on the coffee table and rushed to clean up his mess, spilling some onto the carpet as he stood. Shit. He dashed to the bathroom while more dribbled down his legs. Damn, that was a huge load.

Seto grabbed wads of toilet paper and sopped up the milky goo. He returned to the couch and got what he could off the carpet, hoping Mokuba's maid was skilled enough to handle the rest and if she wasn't, Mokuba would have the balls to fire her.

Seto had barely zipped up his pants when his whore bounded out of the bedroom and threw her arms around him. "I love your brother," she blurted.

Seto's eyes went wide. Is she delirious or serious? Since she hasn't even bothered to dress herself, I'll bank on delirious. Not that I mind, but . . . a sly thought crept into his mind. He hadn't properly washed his hands yet. What if there was just enough semen left on them?

Seto kissed Joan and stuck two fingers into her, feeling her wet hole clench around them. She moaned deep in the back of her throat as he continued smothering her mouth, gripping her waist savagely with the hand not inside her. For once, he had her. Fully and completely. Juices gushed out of her, soaking the leather pants Seto had gone to such lengths to protect.

"Whore, did you just . . ."

"I think so. Yeah, I think I just came."

"You think?"

Joan blushed at the mockery in his voice. "This doesn't happen to me often, OK?"

Seto seized the opportunity. "We'll have to fix that, then."

Joan fell speechless.

"Seto," Mokuba stood in the doorway: pants on, still shirtless, "what are you doing with my . . ." Mokuba paused as he realized he didn't know what to call her anymore.

Seto smirked at his brother. "You mean our whore?"

"Yeah, about that. I think we need to talk," Mokuba said.

Seto looked down at the woman clutching him for support, strangely at his mercy for the first time. "How about over dinner? I'll need to borrow your pants."

Joan perked up at the mention of dinner. "I think I need to clean up a little."

"You do that, whore." Seto gave her a gentle kiss and nudged her toward the bathroom before following Mokuba into his bedroom.

Mokuba pulled a fresh pair of leather pants off a hanger and tossed them to Seto. "Bro, she gave me a freebie and told me she loves me. I don't think she's my whore anymore."

Seto froze, his soiled pants halfway off.

Mokuba continued. "I mean, I love her too."

Seto sat on the bed, his pants pooling around his ankles. His head dropped into his hand.

"And I know you love her too."

Seto looked up sharply, his eyes blazing like blue flames.

"Why . . . why is this a problem for you? Why can't you just admit it? She already knows anyway."

"She doesn't love me. For a moment, only a moment, I thought she did, but now I see it's all you."

"Seto . . ." Mokuba watched in confusion as tears spilled down his brother's cheeks.

"I can pay her all I want, but she always belongs to someone else."

"You've got to be kidding me." Joan stood in the doorway, fully naked, fully aware of the last words Seto had uttered. "I don't belong to anyone."

Seto's gaze met hers, a shard of hope sparkling in the next tear about to fall.

"I belong with the people I love, and that includes you."

Seto's mouth fell open.

"And you're still paying for my trips to Japan. I can't afford them otherwise."

Seto fell back on the bed, too overwhelmed to remain upright. Joan bounced onto the bed as well, taking his head between her palms and looking into his eyes.

"You've never been in love before, have you? How old are you?" Joan asked.

"Twenty-seven," Seto revealed.

"That's not so bad."

"Compared to what?"

"Just generally speaking."

Mokuba joined them on the bed. "I'm twenty-two."

Realizing that they needed comfort and reassurance above all else right now, Joan pulled up the bed covers and wrapped an arm around each of them. "That's perfect."

They lay silent for a while, sharing breath.

"Does it always happen this fast?" Mokuba asked.

"Sometimes faster, but people don't usually admit to it right away," Joan answered.

Seto listened in silent contemplation, letting Mokuba drive the conversation forward.

"Why not?"

"Lots of reasons. Fear of rejection. Fear that family won't approve. Fear that it's just lust and not actual love."

"What if that's us? What if this is lust and not love?"

"That crap about lust is something the old ladies at Sunday school used to shove down our throats."

"But why would they say that if there isn't some truth to it?"

"It's a lie that comforts people when things don't work out. Lust is fun in its own right, and there's nothing wrong with it, but love and lust are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes it's just love, sometimes it's just lust, and sometimes it's both. Don't let anyone else tell you what you do or don't feel," Joan said.

"Nobody told us much of anything," Mokuba said.

"Except that Yugi dweeb with his annoying friendship lectures," Seto added.

Though Mokuba wished they could have been actual friends with Yugi, he didn't want to get into an argument about someone from their past. "Hey Seto, can we go eat now?"

"All right, let's do that."

They all climbed out of bed and finished dressing.