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Illustration credit: AliceKuroCross on DeviantArt

Chapter 27: Jewelry

"Let's get cleaned up." Seto grabbed Joan's hand and headed for the master bathroom. Joan grabbed Mokuba's hand, and the three of them walked as a chain.

In addition to a ridiculously oversized shower, the Hyatt's master bathroom sported a four-seater Jacuzzi. Seto started running water for the whirlpool bath and then turned on the shower. After letting the water heat up for a minute, they all piled inside. Water rained down from a central fixture embedded in the ceiling, dousing Joan and splashing the brothers as they flanked her.

Seto unwrapped a bar of soap and lathered it on a cloth before passing the soap to Mokuba. Seto caressed her face with the cloth and then kissed her, the overdue contact alleviating his consistent ache for her.

Mokuba slipped another soapy cloth around her breasts and kissed her shoulder as he played with them. They moved on to more general scrubbing before ditching the shower for the Jacuzzi.

Joan let the relaxing hot water sweep away tension she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. She'd been afraid that Mokuba would back out and run for the hills. She'd been worried that since she'd found what she'd most desired, it would be fleeting, or worse, that she would have to choose between the Kaibas and her husband, though Marc's position seemed secure either way. Still, she knew loss and she knew how much it cost on an emotional level. One less experienced in love might be apt to discard it more quickly. She felt the pressure of being the only member of the Kaiba family with experience in these matters. The Kaiba family. Was she even technically engaged to them, or was the wedding talk merely spur-of-the-moment speculation?

As if Mokuba had read her thoughts, he said, "We need to get you a ring."

"No conflict diamonds," Joan blurted before she could decide if she could even accept such a gift.

"How about lab-created diamonds?" Seto asked.

"Or white sapphire?" Mokuba asked.

"Uh . . ." Joan sank lower in the water. "What if I lost the thing? I mean, glass would be fine."

The brothers gaped at her as if she had grown a third nostril. "Is that why . . ." Mokuba began cautiously.

"Why you don't wear a ring?" Seto finished.

"Michael's grandmother gave me her ring, and my ex-boyfriend stole it to pay for drugs. We told her that it went down the garbage disposal."

"The . . . garbage disposal?" Mokuba asked.

"Oh right. You rich boys don't do dishes. Well, it grinds up food scraps that go down the kitchen sink so they don't clog the drain."

The brothers stared dumbfounded before Seto spoke. "OK, no more druggie boyfriends for you, and no more dishes either."

"But I like cooking," Joan protested.

"What does cooking have to do with dishes?" A little smirk played over Seto's lips. "Can't your wage monkey handle those?" Seto wrapped a strand of her damp hair around his finger.

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Joan rolled her eyes. "He's my husband, not my butler. Seriously though, I don't want the burden of something expensive. I'm already a target enough as it is. If you guys are going to insist on this, make it something pointless to steal and easy to replace."

"My marketing director and her wife got really cool matching rings with the names and birthstones of their kids. How about something like that but with our names?" Mokuba suggested.

"Maybe. How much do those things cost?"

"I don't know. Seto's birthstone is opal and mine is ruby," Mokuba stroked her thigh, "but we can get synthetic corundum and whatever opal is made of so you don't have to worry about what kind of mine the stones came from. We can even make a public statement on the ring so people know there's no point in stealing it."

Joan leaned into Mokuba. "As long as it's less than a thousand dollars, I guess."

"Whore, you do realize those pants you splooshed on earlier were easily more than that, right?"

Joan propped her feet on Seto's lap. "And that's your fault for wearing them to impress me." She settled against Mokuba's chest and relished the warm water. "You might be able to talk me into more jewelry later, but this is already moving way too fast. I mean, seriously. I've known Marc longer than you two and he wants to be a dad too, but he's dead set on getting Laura pregnant before he so much as considers that with me." Joan sighed. "I guess since I'm your first, you don't have that same sense of restraint."

"Are you saying you have to make a baby with the wage monkey first?" Seto asked.

"Maybe. Procreation hasn't been a priority for us with our financial situation, but if you keep paying me like you have, I can pay off my student loans this year and we could take out my IUD and start trying."

Seto rubbed Joan's feet while he contemplated this. Forcing her into things she didn't want never worked. Throwing more money at her only seemed to work half the time, so he had to play his cards right. "You and the wage monkey start trying Monday."

"What?" A torrent of tingles surged through Joan.

"I'll pay off your student loans tomorrow, and first thing Monday morning I'll pay a doctor to remove your IUD."

"Seto . . ." Joan's eyes bulged. "What's the catch?"

"If he doesn't knock you up in three months, I get to have my way with you."

Joan's ovaries quivered. "Six months."

"Four."

"And no visits to Japan during my fertile window."

Seto stopped rubbing her feet. "Fuck."

Joan crossed her arms. "You trying to pull a fast one on me?"

"Just hoping to get lucky," Seto mumbled.

"All of this is subject to Michael's approval anyway," Joan said.

"Including the ring?" Mokuba asked.

"Well . . . yeah," Joan replied. "It would be pretty weird walking around with your names on the ring but not Michael's."

"Would it be weird if I texted him about this stuff?" Mokuba asked.

"No. It's a good idea, actually. Don't forget to include nudes."

"Uh . . ."

"Marc and Michael send each other photos of me whenever possible. They make a game of it."

"It's true," Seto confirmed.

"Maybe we can take some pictures tomorrow." Mokuba nudged Joan off himself and got out of the Jacuzzi. "I should be getting home soon." He toweled off and Joan rose to give him a parting kiss.

Joan turned back to Seto. "So . . . ready for round two?"