Bound in Leather

well, it would seem that i\'ve found yet another reason to bore you with all the minute details that i must bore you with. if for no other reason than the sake of my legal status. i hereby do not claim any of the characters you recognize. severus snape, remus lupin, and any other characters from the world of harry potter belong strictly to j.k. rowling. i am merely borrowing them to force you to read my writing! ha! evil, i am. wicked, i am. heartless and cruel, i am. ~slap~ ranting, i am. all others are drawn from my imagination.... so that i can play with her characters. oh yeah, i\'m not making one friggin\' penny on this. is\'nt life cruel?

there is likely to be smut in the following literary offering. so if you\'re easily offended by obscenity, you\'ll miss all the good stuff. sorry, that\'s the way it is. if you\'re not, read on. but bring the fan, ice water, and maybe a guy or two. you\'ll likely need it. or so i\'ve been told.

and lastly, feel free to let me know what you think. a review or some helpful pointers are appreciated. no flames, please. i will use them to roast your ass! and you know what happens then. the dragon wants to come out and play. let me tell you, it\'s never pretty.

Chapter Ten: Groupie Bitches From Hell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Al sighed when she felt the plane begin to slow as it taxied into the terminal. She never grew tired of sitting on the small jet, staring at the lavish appointments. She was not surprised to find that it belonged to Severus, but she hadn\'t been able to get him to explain all the serpents to her. The leather seat was wrapped around her in an almost comforting way. It felt to her like a loving embrace. She was glad to be going to see him again. The days between the time she flew out to see him were long and seemed to drag. Al was beginning to suspect that she felt more for Severus Snape than she should.

This was her third trip to see the band live. She looked forward to each of the concerts she was allowed to attend. Remus would always meet her in front of the house or at the diner to ask her what her schedule was like so that a trip could be scheduled around it. When she stepped from the terminal at the venue city, Remus was always there to greet her. He was forever smiling, as if he knew a secret that he had no intentions of sharing. She considered him to be a good friend and was always happy to see him.

Tonight\'s show was in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The flight was mercifully short. Al was certain she wouldn\'t be able to sit for very long. Kevin had found some of his money missing, then discovered that Al had a new outfit. He\'d immediately put two and two together and come up with seven. Naturally, he accused Al of stealing the missing funds. When she\'d dared to suggest that he\'d spent it while on a drinking binge, he\'d let her know with his fists that he didn\'t like her smart mouth. She\'d been doing alot of that lately. Smarting off to him. She could only think that it was somehow connected to all the time spent in Severus\' company. He was terminally sarcastic and biting. It was to the point of hateful some nights. She had to be picking up on his attitude.

She had suffered a mild beating before the last trip. When Severus had asked, she\'s told him she\'d tripped on her shoe laces and fallen into the counter at work. Not a terribly bright lie, but he hadn\'t questioned her. Still, he had treated her with as much tenderness as she was beginning to believe he\'d ever shown anyone. She didn\'t dare hope, but it looked to her as if he might feel something for her. Their conversation after Remus\' little plan in Chicago had convinced her of that.

After their pervy game of Twister, he\'d allowed her to sleep for a short while, then had woken her to play yet another round of the game. That one had ended with them laying on the plastic mat. Their sweat had made the sheet stick to them, and she\'s actually heard a faint chuckle from him as they\'d tried to disengage the damned thing. Once he\'d gotten her to the bed again, he\'d lain with her and spoken of the events that had passed between her and Remus. Severus had made it abundantly, painfully clear that he now considered her to be his and his alone. He hadn\'t said it outright, but he\'d hinted that he would hurt any man who tired to play the same game with her as Remus had to make him jealous.

As far as declarations went, it had not been one of undying love and devotion. Not the type that poets wrote about. But it had been a declaration of sorts. He\'d told her, without actually saying it, that he intended to keep seeing her. She\'d left the room and Chicago with a smile on her face. She knew it didn\'t mean that they were a couple in the traditional sense of the word, but she also know that it was as close as she would come to commitment from him. And Al decided she could live with that.

The plane lurched to a halt, and a member of the flight crew came out to help her off the plane. He smiled at her, nodding his head silently as she moved out of the plane\'s body and onto the ramp that would lead her into the airport terminal. She wore a light weight trench coat in black over the new dress she\'d gotten to wear for the evening. The very outfit Kevin had claimed she\'d bought with his stolen money. It was a surprise of sorts for Severus, as she thought he might like it.

She looked about for Remus, noting that he wasn\'t there. In fact, the terminal was nearly completely empty. She sighed, wondering where her escort was. Perhaps he was waiting outside. She moved with a confidence she didn\'t feel toward the gate out of the terminal. No one paid her any mind as she made her way gracefully to the exit doors. Looking around, she found that there was no Remus here, either. In fact, there wasn\'t even a limo at the curb. She muttered a few choice words under her breath that would have made her mother wash her mouth out with soap.

\'Disappointed that Lupin didn\'t come to fetch you?\' the silken voice washed over her. Al managed to surpress her shudder, then turned to smile at Severus. He stood behind her, decked as always in all black. His legs were once more encased in the skin tight, butter soft leather trousers that she loved so well. The shirt he wore was a very simple button down in silk that moved as if it were alive. Over that, he wore what looked like an old frock coat. It had a long row of small buttons along the front, with a flared length of what she could only call skirting at the waist. The coat was left unbuttoned. Damn, if he didn\'t look fuckable. She wondered if he would protest too much if she attacked him in the car.

\'Nothing to say to me, Alasdair?\' he questioned. His tone sounded innocent enough, but she imagined she heard a hint of steel hidden among the seemingly simplistic question. As if he expected her to say that she was indeed disappointed that Remus wasn\'t there. She moved toward him slowly, giving him a feral smile that suggested exactly what she wanted to say. He watched her silently until she stood before him, her hands on her hips.

\'Nothing that I can say to you in public, Severus,\' her voice was soft, pitched low and full of heat. He smiled at that, then took her arm in his hand to lead her to the car. She was even more surprised to see that he was not steering her toward a limo. It was a small, sporty looking Jaguar. Black, of course. It had two doors and two seats. He opened the passenger side door for her. She took a few moments getting in. He shut the door, then moved over to the driver\'s side.

The two of them were silent as Severus drove toward the venue for the evening. He\'d only just recently learned to drive, and it was now a passion of his. Rather like flying, in some ways. Deek and Clarette had taken it upon themselves to teach him when they\'d discovered he didn\'t know how. When he\'d gone for a car, he\'d picked the Jaguar. It was sleek and stylish, sporty and luxuriant all at once. He was in love with the bloody contraption.

Giving over nearly all his concentration for the road, he allowed part of his brain to process what he\'d seen. Alasdair had taken far too much time getting into the car. It meant she was stiff and sore. He was certain she was sporting a few nasty bruises, as well. Severus had his suspicions. They\'d started when he\'d first seen the bruise on her back that time in the park. It had been of an odd shape and far too strangely placed to be a random bruise. And there had been others since then. Not that he didn\'t expect her to get bruised, seeing as she waitressed in the diner. But some of the marks he found on her were not from normal, daily clumsiness.

He was mostly sure of his conclusion that she was suffering abuse. Most likely from the despised step-father she spoke so heatedly of. But he could not prove it. And he was not going to jump into the middle of her affairs without just cause. He knew too well what kind of results that kind of blind stupidity could bring. He also felt that she should tell him of this problem. He was not a great one at relationships, but he did know that he felt she needed to come to him on her own, to show she trusted him. He also knew, were it abuse, that she was likely ashamed of it and didn\'t wish to discuss it.

Which was the heart of the problem, as far as he could tell. If he interfered and there were no problem, he would look like a complete jackass. But, if he didn\'t find some way to get her to trust in him and tell him what he believed was happening, it could likely lead to her death. He knew well enough what that kind of abuse could do to a person. So he was uncertain how to proceed.

Severus was rather lost when it came to forming and participating in relationships. It didn\'t matter what kind. He was not well versed in any of them. He wasn\'t certain what kind of relationship he and Al had, but he did know that he wanted her in his life. He wanted to keep seeing her. She presented him with something he had despaired of ever having. A sense of belonging. She accepted him for who and what he was. Asked for nothing in return. She seemed to honestly enjoy just spending time with him. She wasn\'t always hot to get into his trousers, though he had to admit that he enjoyed that aspect of their time together.

He was fairly positive that the bruises he saw were from her step-father. Which meant that the man was abusing her. It was not a pleasant thought. He felt the need to protect her, though he wasn\'t sure why. He didn\'t know what that meant in terms of his feelings. He only knew he wanted to take Alasdair\'s step-father to task for the suffering he was willfully handing out to a sweet willed girl. More to the point, the Death Eater in him was aching to spill out and have a go at the arrogant speck of humanity. It was, so far, taking all his will power to keep the darkness at bay and his wits about him. He wanted Alasdair to come to him, to ask him for his help.

Funny, he\'d never thought of himself as a white knight in shining armor. Damn him if he hadn\'t suddenly developed a set of emotions and a conscience, to boot. If he wasn\'t careful, he\'d start acting like a bloody Gryffindor. Merely thinking it was enough to make him shudder in revulsion.

He had thought of speaking to Remus about it, of asking him for his advice to the whole sordid mess. He knew the man was rather an intelligent individual. Not that Severus would ever admit that to anyone. But he also knew that Lupin was protective of Alasdair for some reason. Should he tell the shape shifter what he suspected, he would have to cast a full body bind on the man to keep him from doing something rash.

\'Where\'s Remus?\' she finally asked, when they were pulling to a stop behind the venue. He managed a sound that could be taken for a chuckle, then slipped from the driver\'s seat and moved around the car to help her out. She smiled up at him, then glanced up at the night sky. The full moon shone down upon the two of them. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply of the fresh night air.

\'He is tied up with some pressing matter at the moment,\' Severus replied, his black gaze going to the full moon hanging low in the night sky. He couldn\'t stifle the laugh his choice of words brought. She opened her eyes to look at him questioningly. \' It\'s nothing, my dear. Remus is busy, and I do not know when he will be able to join us. He sends his regrets that he could not meet you at the airport.\'

\'Oh. I see,\' she nodded. He doubted she did, but he didn\'t press the matter further. Instead, he urged her toward the door, settling his hand on her lower back to guide her with. She said nothing, merely moved forward slowly and silently. He could feel the tension in the muscles beneath his finger tips. He wondered if it was because of his touch or because of the suspected abuse. He vowed he would find out, one way or the other.

They walked into the building, her permanent laminate pass hanging about her neck. She smiled at the door man in her perpetually friendly manner, then listened as their footsteps echoed up the hallway. She was wearing a pair of strappy shoes with a three inch heel. Severus still towered over her in his flat boots. The heels of their shoes clacked noisily on the floor, though she noticed that she made more noise than he did. She wondered at the for a few moments, then let the thought slip away when they entered the dressing room.

The four members of the band lifted hands and voices in greeting, as did the woman at Deek\'s side. Severus had told Al her name was Clarette, but the two of them hadn\'t had opportunity to speak to one another yet. He moved over to the empty couch, taking a seat on it. His hand curled over her arm, gently tugging on the limb to tug her down onto the cushion next to him. She sat willingly, the line of her body pressed against his. She didn\'t notice the looks that passed between the band member, but he did.

\'Five minutes,\' a voice told them from the other side of the door. Severus glanced to Al and gave her a frown. She smiled back, knowing that the announcement had been his cue. She leaned closer, leaning up to place a kiss on his cheek.

\'Stay with Clarette,\' he instructed gently. \' I\'ll come for you when the show is done.\' Al nodded, watching as he got to his feet. He followed the rest of the band out the door, leaving her alone with Clarette. The other woman came over to where she sat and offered a hand. Al shook it, then stood.

\'Come on. I know you and Remus normally stand off by yourselves, but I guess you get to rough it with me and the other girls that managed to get back stage,\' she smiled, heading for the still open door. Al nodded and stood, then left the dressing room to make her way up the hall behind Clarette.

~*~*~*~*~

At the beginning of the concert, Al and Clarette had managed to find a spot back stage where they could stand by themselves and enjoy the music. The roadies knew them on sight well enough that they let them be, not bothering to move them too far from where they were. Over the course of the show, the two of them had managed a few snippets of conversation when it could be heard over the impossibly loud noise of the music and crowd. Both had a good view of the stage, so they could each see all the members of the band and a good portion of the crowd. It was as exhilerating and exciting to Al this time as it had been on her previous two trips.

She was surprised to find that the final encore song for the night was \"The End\" by the Doors. Another group she loved. She was of the opinion that Jim Morrison was something of a god. She also found that the ensemble Severus had worn on stage fit the music very well. Al thought that she would never get enough of Severus. In any manner or form. His voice was like silk when he spoke, sliding over her skin to make her shiver. It never failed to bring her arousal to a full boil when the two of them were alone. His hands were long and slender, sure of whatever they did. And the way he constantly took charge of whatever situation he was in. He acted as if he were the master of all he perceived. She found that trait terribly provocative.

As the song was finishing up, Clarette tugged her arm, urging her to return to the group\'s dressing room with her. Al went gladly. As much as she loved the music and the show, she was more than ready to sit and wait for Severus. Her feet hurt, as well as most of the rest of her. It looked as if this time, they would spend their time together talking. Not that talking was such a bad thing. But she was sure after such a rousing show, he would be looking forward to a bit of release. She was really beginning to hate Kevin with a passion.

Waiting in the dressing room would be something of a new experience for her. The last time she\'d flown out to see him, she\'d not even seen the dressing room. Severus had come straight off stage and taken her back to the hotel. There had actually been some talk between the times they\'d frolicked between the sheets. She wasn\'t surprised to find that she looked forward to the talking as much as she did the incredible sex. He was a wonderfully intelligent man who was a pleasure to talk to. And she got the feeling that he enjoyed the talking as much as she did.

She supposed, as she slipped into the room behind Clarette, that he grew tired of the mostly brainless conversation that he got from the normal fare of women on the road. It had to be frustrating to not be able to carry out a decent dialogue with someone who was far more interested in the size of the man\'s package than in his brain. In some ways, she felt sorry for those other women who had slipped in and out of his bed as quickly as they had slipped in and out of their clothing. They had missed out on a man with a fabulously dry, scathing sense of humor and a generally caring personality under the gruff exterior. But not too sorry. That meant she had him all to herself.

\'Hey. Who\'s the new girl?\' a voice asked from across the room. She looked up to find a woman glaring at her with narrowed eyes. The owner of the question had obviously spent all her money on anything she could in what Al suspected was an attempt to make herself feel superior to the other women she knew. Her hair was dyed a wonderful strawberry blonde that was far too even and perfect to be natural. Not to mention the near black of her eyebrows and a faint, telling line of really dark roots gave it away. Her lips were a touch too pouty, and her breasts were just far too perky to be her own. She\'d had lots of help with her self esteem, it seemed.

\'Dunno, Cris. I\'ve never seen her before,\' another girl shrugged. The girl named Cris moved closer to where Al sat. It was then that Al noticed that Clarette had disappeared. It looked as if Al was on her own for the moment. She drummed up a smile and stood, offering the other girl her hand to shake.

\'Hi. You can call me Al,\' she told them. The group of groupies looked at one another for a moment, then burst out into laughter. Her hand was ignored, so she dropped it back to her side. Something told her that this was not going to go well. Cris brought her attention back to Al and looked down at her.

\'So, Al,\' she began, then sniggered. \'Who are you here for?\'

\'Severus,\' Al told the other woman casually. She swore she could hear the eyebrows raise with her answer. Even over the collective gasp. Apparently, she\'d said something wrong.

\'Really? Well, then. Perhaps I should fill you in on a few things, Al,\' Cris began, putting emphasis on her name by sneering it. Al found that she disliked the way the taller woman said her name. She cocked a brow at her, crossing her arms over her chest as she\'d seen Severus do more than once. \'You have the lowest spot in the pecking order. Which means you get a shot at one of the band members. More than likely, it\'ll be one of the roadies. See, I\'ve been following the tour since it started, so I\'m in line for the head man.\'

\'Really? If you\'ve been following it since it started, why haven\'t you gotten backstage before now? I know I haven\'t seen you before,\' Al replied, her tone smug. She saw the flush that stained the strawberry blonde\'s cheeks, then the anger settled in her contact lens produced baby blues and she narrowed them even further at Al.

\' I\'ll have you know, you little bitch, that I have been at each and every show,\' she spat. \'And I\'ve earned the right to be back here. You have not. I\'ve never seen you before tonight.\'

\'And that\'s why I have this?\' Al held up the laminate that she had strung around her neck. Cris looked at it, then practically growled her reply at Al.

\'Who did you have to fuck to get that?\'

\'No one. It was gifted to me,\' Al replied sweetly. \'Unlike you, I have not whored myself out to every Tom\'s hairy dick I could. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a groupie. You, my dear, are nothing but. And, if you really want to know the truth, Severus would never go for a woman like you. He likes his women to be..... \' she sighed, looking as if she were searching her brain for something. \'Oh yes, I know. Real.\'

\'You fucking little cunt!\' Cris snapped at her. Al merely smiled, not willing to stoop to the other woman\'s level. When the insult failed to produce any other form of reaction, Cris lifted her hand and swung it. The palm connected sharply with Al\'s cheek, the cracking it made loud in the now silent room. The blow snapped Al\'s head to the side, and she slowly turned to face the other woman once again. This time, she wore a look of barely contained anger.

\'Don\'t ever hit me again, or I swear I\'ll have your tits on a platter,\' Al warned, her voice low and seething with rage. She saw the fist as it swung up at her, and the control she had on her anger snapped. She ducked the blow, then threw herself into the taller female. The two of them tumbled to the floor gracelessly with Al sitting on top. Al felt the blow jar all the way up her arm when the back of her hand connected with the hateful woman\'s cheek. Several blows fell on both sides, with the two women\'s bodies shifting back and forth across the floor for the advantage.

Al wasn\'t sure how much time had lapsed since the fight had started, but a short while later found her on her back once more. Cris was sitting on her stomach, one hand pulled back and balled into a fist. There were marks on the woman\'s face, a thin trickle of blood running from one corner of her mouth. Al imagined she didn\'t look much better. \' I will personally see to it that you are blacklisted from every venue in the country, you bitch!\' Cris forced out between clenched teeth. Al couldn\'t help but give her smug smile, knowing that she had nothing to fear where this woman was concerned.

The fist above her never got the opportunity to drop. Before Cris could even think about landing another blow, she was physically jerked off Al and pulled across the room. Al found a pale hand extended to her, and she took it thankfully. Severus helped pull her to her feet, his black gaze raking her figure a moment before he turned to the other woman. Al saw that Turlough had a hold of her, while Clarette smirked at her from Deek\'s side.

\'Just what the bloody hell is going on in here?\' Severus demanded hotly. He looked from Al to Cris, his piercing stare pinning her to where she stood. When she wasn\'t forthcoming with an explanation, he looked back to the petite woman beside him. \'Alasdair? What\'s this all about?\'

\'She seems to think I\'m a groupie like her. When I told her I was here to see you, she told me I was on the bottom of the totem pole and I\'d be lucky if I got a roadie. When things got a little heated, she attacked me,\' Al gave him the condensed version of the story.

\'How heated?\' he asked, his sharp gaze taking in every mark the other woman had left on Alasdair\'s face.

\'She called me a cunt and hit me. So I hit her back,\' Al shrugged.

\' I see,\' he replied, nodding. Then he looked back to the woman across the room. \'Do you have anything to say for yourself?\'

\'She\'s lying! I would never....\' Cris stammered to a halt when she saw the look Severus gave her. It was obvious to anyone that he didn\'t believe her. Wordlessly, he motioned for the door with his black head. A previously unnoticed security guard came over and took Cris from Turlough. It took her a moment or two to realize what was happening. \'You\'re throwing me out? You fucking bastard! You suck!\'

\' I do not wish to ever see her face again. Make sure that the permanent roadies take a good look and memorize her features. Should I ever see her again, I will have someone\'s testicles for decoration. Do I make myself perfectly understood?\' Severus\' voice came out sounding the most forceful Al had ever heard it. She glanced to the door and saw that several of the roadies stood in the doorway. Each one of them nodded silently. The guard hauled a struggling Cris to the door, ignoring the steady stream of expletives that left her mouth.

The other girls in the room remained silent, watching as one of their own was hauled away. Severus turned to look at Alasdair, his face lacking expression. She could see, though, that there was a faint flicker of concern in his eyes. \'Are you alright?\' he asked her quietly.

\' I\'m alright. Just a little tender now. I\'ll live,\' she told him, offering him a smile.

\'Very well. Shall we retire to the hotel, then?\' he queried. She nodded, then moved ahead of him to the door when he motioned toward it with one hand. She felt him following behind her until they reached the door. Then he stopped and turned. \'Thank you for fetching me, Clarette.\'

\'Anytime, Severus. Anytime. I thought it might be best. I was afraid of what Al would do to the unlucky woman,\' Clarette returned. Al turned to look at her, giving a smile when she saw the wink the dark headed woman gave her. She nodded her own thanks, then stepped into the hallway.

~*~*~*~*~

Severus had a plush hotel room that made Al think of one of those penthouses you saw in movies and on tv. It was huge. The bathroom even came equipped with a sunken bathtub with jacuzzi capabilities. He had driven them over in his car, and she found that she liked it far more than riding in the backseat of the limo. He had been silent the entire trip, and she thought he might of been lost in thought. She stood in the middle of the living area of his suite, staring about the place as if she had never seen anything like it in her life.

The chuckle from behind her startled her, and she turned to find him leaning one hip negligently against a table. He looked her up and down, then motioned to the trench coat she still wore. \'Are you ever going to take thing off, or do you expect me to have at you while you\'re still wearing it?\'

\'Oh,\' she blushed, then reached for the belt. \'Sorry. I forgot I was wearing it.\' Her hands swiftly undid the tied belt, then slipped each of the buttons from their holes. She dropped the outer garment to the floor and allowed him to see what she had picked with him in mind. The dress was made of real silk done in the Oriental cheongsam style. It was tight and ended at her knees, the sleeves short and coming only to about the middle of her upper arms. The silk was dyed a vibrant emerald green, and was decorated with silver dragons. The sleeves, hem, neckline, and edge of the panels were piped with more silver material. She wore real silk stockings with it. They had seams in the back and Cuban heels.

\'What an interesting choice of garments to wear,\' he replied, slowly letting his burning gaze rake her from head to toe. He was slightly amazed that she would wear something in Slytherin colors. She gave an uncertain smile and glanced down at the dress.

\' I know they\'re not serpents, but I thought this might be close,\' she told him when she looked back up at him. \'When I saw the dress, I immediately thought of you.\'

\'Did you?\' he lifted a brow at her reply. She nodded, watching him as he began to drift closer. He offered her one of those smiles that she knew meant he was thinking decidedly naughty thoughts. \'Well, as wonderful as the dress looks upon your body, I would much rather see you without it. Take it off. Now.\'

\'Can we just talk tonight? I don\'t think I\'m up to a roll in the hay. Not that I don\'t want to. I just....\' she asked him. He shook his head, moving ever toward her. She sighed, knowing better than to argue with him, then lifted her hands to the buttons on the high collar and began to slowly undo them. When she had enough buttons undone, the silk slipped off her shoulders to pool on the floor at her feet. She saw his eyes go over the lace bra and matched panties with lust burning in them.

His hand came up, one finger motioning for her to turn for him. She did so slowly, her body held erect. He was not pleased to see a fresh set of bruises marring the pale skin on her back. There were too many of them scattered too far apart for it to be anything but her step-father\'s fist. When she faced him once more, he managed to keep his face blanked of expression. That was it. He was going to kill her step-father.

\' I know it looks awful, but it doesn\'t really hurt,\' she offered. He cocked a brow, that one move telling her he found that hard to believe. She managed a faint smile. \' I\'m fine. Really. Just clumsy, I guess.\'

Severus found himself nodding when what he really wanted to do was rail at her and ask her how she could let the evil bastard do this to her. He was shocked to find that he wanted to shake her until her brains rattled about in her head. He could not understand why she let Kevin beat her, then stayed to allow it to happen again. He\'d never before found himself so concerned over the welfare of anyone he had ever known. Not like this. It scared him in some ways. In others, it felt completely natural to want to protect her. This relationship thing was bloody confusing.

\'Perhaps a drink and a short time spent in the jacuzzi tub would help to make you feel better,\' he suggested, moving over to the mini bar. She watched as he pulled out a few small bottles, pouring the different colored liquids into a pair of glasses. He came back over to where she stood in her underwear and handed her one of the glasses. She took it, sipping it slowly. Al cringed at the taste. She wasn\'t much for alcohol, and whatever he had put in the glass was really strong. She began to set it down. \'All of it,\' his voice told her.

\'Do I have to? I really don\'t care for strong drinks,\' she asked him, trying not to whine. He merely pressed his lips together and stared at her hard. With a sigh, Al lifted the glass to her lips and, gathering her courage about her, she tossed the rest of it back in one gulp. She coughed and sputtered a moment, then blinked and stared at him.

\'Now, into the tub with you,\' he instructed. She turned and marched dutifully into the bathroom. She could feel him on her heels. She sat on the toilet lid, heaving a sigh as he turned a pair of knobs and started the water running. He swept past her, out the door. She looked over at the tub and sneered. This was not what she\'d had in mind for the evening. A few moments later, Severus strolled back into the bathroom, minus every last bit of his clothes. He was naked and comfortable with it. Al watched as he stepped into the tub, settling into the water. He looked up at her. \'Well, are you coming in, or aren\'t you?\'

Al stood, slipping the shoes from her feet before reaching down to undo the garters that held her stockings up. She slipped the tabs out, then rolled each stocking down her leg slowly.The garter belt fell to the floor, already forgotten as she reached up to unsnap her bra. It fell away while she worked her panties down. When she was fully unclothed, she stepped into the tub. He held out a hand to help guide her down into the water, making sure to pull her close to him. She snuggled wordlessly into his embrace.

Severus felt that this was a completely natural thing to do, sitting in a tub with his arm around a woman that he was beginning to suspect meant more to him than an occasional tumble. He didn\'t want to analyze the feeling that he had. But, if he had to make a guess, he would have to say that he was... content. It was astonishing to him that he had so far found himself actually looking forward to the days when she could fly out to see him. This was an odd thing for him to contend with, and he wasn\'t completely certain how Alasdair actually felt about him.

He supposed that, sometime in the future, he would be forced to not only acknowledge that he held some kind of affection for Alasdair, but he would have to sit and talk with her at length about what kind of relationship the two of them were engaged in. That thought was utterly frightening. He knew that he would need to broach the subject of abuse with her eventually. Even if they never developed any further than the level of lovers. He liked and respected her too much to sit back and let her step-father continue beating her for an indeterminate amount of time. The man would eventually kill her, and Severus wasn\'t entirely sure he wanted to see that happen. It was a totally foreign thought for him.

He\'d mixed a healing potion in with the small amount of juice he\'d poured her. As he had done on her previous visit. He would like to say that he was doing it to help her out, but he was man enough to admit that there were purely selfish reasons motivating his seemingly noble actions. He missed her body pressed under his when she wasn\'t there, and he wanted to be able to savor the experience as much as possible, when he actually could. So he\'d produced and fed her potions to help with the physical aches and pains. He would give this one time to work it\'s way through her system, then he would have his way with her.

That thought made him smile. Which he found to be thoroughly annoying. He muttered a few mental curses at himself. If this was how he was acting now, he might as well give in and admit now that he needed her. It might just very well be that he had it bad. He was a bloody fool. No, he was worse. If he actually was falling for Alasdair Maeve Wyndham, he could only think of two words to describe himself.

Fucking sheep!

end chapter ten.
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once again, thanks to madam shark. she is not only my beta, but inspiration and the muse of lusty images. i know she only gets these pitiful thanks, but i don\'t know how else to properly thank her. so she\'s gonna have to make due with this.

as always, thanks to red, simone, and kenly. my own little group of groupies..... i guess we all have to be someone\'s groupie every now and then. huggles to all of you fine ladies.

and, i would like to thank all of you who have read this. i hope you like it as much as i have been.

to michele: i know you didn\'t get a review up for the last chapter, but i had to say..... is this anything like you had in mind? Al meets up with some of the other groupies. the more i thought on it, the more i liked the idea. i hope this was a fairly adequate attempt.

to sandra: firstly, thanks for joining up with us. we love having you there. secondly, i\'m so glad you\'re enjoying this fic. the bunny bit me and i couldn\'t let the idea pass me by. i hope i can present a believable Snape in the world of Rock n Roll and he\'s still Snape.

to star: i wouldn\'t want you to jump up and down while feeling like shit. that would be a bad thing and i try not to be a bad writer. i love my readers, yes i do.

to red: hmmm... someone for Remus. i\'ll have to see who i can dig up! ;p