Lost and Found
Afterglow
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all his friends (and
enemies) are the brain-child of J.K. Rowling. I’m just borrowing them.
Exclusive ownership belongs to JKR, Arthur A. Levine Books and Scholastic Inc.
Jane Sinclair and all additional characters belong to me. You belong to
yourself.
A/N: Before we return to the plot, some more lemons…
because I feel generous. For my most faithful reviewers – dare I say fans?
– Mark Darcy and Holly Ilex. Oh, and for Quintus – you know, who you are – for,
erm, inspiring me.
***
Never dreamed out in the world
There are arms to hold you
Child
of the Wilderness from the movie The Phantom of the Opera
Chapter
Thirteen – Afterglow
Severus
awoke in the wee hours of the morning, his eyes opening slowly to the comforting
sensation of warm naked skin against his own nude body. He looked at the
sleeping form lying next to him and the events of the previous night came back
to him. Jane, he thought happily, had spent the night with him. He rolled onto
his side and watched the woman sharing his bed. She lay on her stomach, sound
asleep, snoring gently, and he knew he’d never beheld a more glorious sight.
He thought
back on his life and the sexual encounters he’d had. He certainly hadn’t lived
like a monk, but he’d never made love. Not truly. His night with Jane had opened
his eyes. In the past, his encounters had always been brief and driven by lust,
by necessity, by the primal urge to relieve his sexual frustration. Like an
animal, he had mated, working towards one goal, and one alone. He had strived
for the one brief surge of ecstasy that granted him a moment’s reprieve from
the darkness of his empty existence, that one moment of pleasure, where all was
well with the world. It hadn’t been until last night that he understood the
true meaning of pure bliss. He had experienced a genuine union of bodies
and of souls. Severus felt his body stir as the memories of last night flashed
through his mind.
Take me, she
had told him as she melted into his arms. And he had. They’d come together in a
frantic tangle of arms and legs, clawing at each other with sheer desperation.
He recalled how Jane, frustrated with the many buttons on his tunic, simply
tore his jacket open. He could still hear the buttons popping off and
scattering in all directions. If he was honest, he hadn’t been too gentle with
her either. He had peeled her out of her dress with a speed that had surprised
even him. He had made love to her that second time on the cold hard floor in
front of the fireplace. But Jane hadn’t complained. She had matched his wild
urgency kiss for kiss, touch for touch. Her need had been as fierce as his, and
their union had been explosive. Severus couldn’t remember how they had made it
to his bed, only that he woke in the middle of the night with Jane draped over
him. He had roused her with tender kisses and made love to her with slow
determination. Afterwards, they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms.
He liked the
feel of her, her warm body against his. He carefully gathered her into his arms
and pulled her close. Jane mumbled something in her sleep and turned into his
embrace, entangling her legs with his. He held her in the protective circle of
his arms, unable to believe his good fortune. He still marveled at her
enthusiastic response to him. It had been easy to make love to her, he
reflected, nuzzling her neck. She had surrendered her body to his exploration,
and he had indulged himself in finding out what made her squirm, what made her
hot, and what made her scream with pleasure. Jane stretched languorously against
him, moaning in her sleep, and Severus cocked an eyebrow. He wondered whether
she was dreaming of him.
Jane
smiled, happy with delight. Severus was making love to her, again. He gently
caressed her face, tracing her delicate features, the curve of her jaw. She turned
into his touch, pressing herself against his nude body, desperate to feel him
close. He kissed her slowly, playfully teasing her lips apart with his tongue,
and she melted into his arms. His hand slid to her throat, coming to rest
there. Jane’s head fell backwards onto the pillow and she lifted her arms high
above her head, offering herself to him.
Severus
let his hands trail from the soft skin of her throat to her shoulders, before
focusing on her breasts. He squeezed the soft flesh gently, and Jane arched
against him. One hand moved caressingly down her torso to settle finally over
the gentle curve of her abdomen. Her breath caught in her throat at this simple
touch. The feeling of his calloused hands on her vulnerable skin, made her
quiver with desire.
Jane’s
heart began to race as he kissed the sensitive skin over her jugular. She could
feel his hot breath against her neck and the gentle rasp of his tongue as he
licked the spot he’d just kissed. Severus nipped gently at first, before
fastening his mouth more determinedly. He alternated the pressure with which he
sucked and nipped at her skin, sending jolt after jolt to the very core of her
being. With a guttural moan, Jane hugged him close to her as he marked her,
claiming her as his. Finally, his tongue trailed a wet path along the line of
her jaw to the corner of her mouth. She could feel his hot breath against the
sensitive skin of her partially open lips before he claimed her mouth in a
carnal kiss…
Jane’s eyes
flew open. This was no dream. She was lying in Severus’ arms, his
powerful frame spooning up behind her, his arousal hard and demanding against
her thigh. Their legs were entangled, and one of his hands was clamped
possessively over one of her breasts. He was nuzzling her neck, and Jane
moaned.
“Good
morning,” he smiled against her skin.
“Severus?”
“Yes, Jane?”
He tightened his arms around her.
“I thought
it was all a dream,” she said dreamily.
He tensed.
“Do you regret last night?”
There was a
slight catch in his voice, and Jane quickly turned around to face him. His eyes
were veiled, his features enigmatic. Severus was steeling himself for the
worst.
Jane cupped
his face between her hands and met his eyes determinedly. “Of course, I don’t,
Severus. It was wonderful. You were wonderful.” She kissed him tenderly.
“I want you, Severus. Only you.”
She could
feel the tension leave his body, saw his mask of
indifference crumble. Jane caressed his face. “Don’t ever doubt your own worth,
Severus. You deserve to be loved. And I do love you.”
He buried
his face against her shoulder, seeking comfort. “You don’t have to say it,
Jane.”
“Yes, I do.
And you need to hear it.” She hugged him tighter. “I love you.”
He trembled,
clutching her to him. “I… I…” He broke off, his throat constricting with
emotion.
Jane cradled
his head against her chest and combed her fingers through his tousled hair. “
It was a
long time before Severus moved again. His arousal was still straining against
her.
“What have
we here,” she murmured.
“A gift for
you,” he growled, pushing against her, removing all doubt about his desire for
her. Passion had replaced his insecurities and self-doubts. Jane giggled
delightedly and wriggled against him. Severus, the lover, was back, and she
ached for him.
Severus
kissed her neck, rasping his tongue over her sensitive skin. Jane giggled when
he reached a particularly ticklish spot. “You like that, hmm?” She could feel
his lips against her skin pull into a smile.
“I do,” she
laughed, reaching around his shoulders to draw him closer. “More please.”
“Your wish
is my command.” Severus began to nip on her throat, biting her gently.
A guttural
moan escaped her lips, and his hands roamed over her body, from her hips along
her sides to her breasts. The rough calloused skin of his palms sent electric
shivers through her body, and Jane writhed beneath him, restless with need. He
kneaded the soft flesh, rolling her rapidly hardening nipples between his long
fingers. She moaned again.
“I love your
hands,” she told him. “I always have.”
“Is that
so?” His smoldering gaze stoked the fire in her even higher.
Jane nodded,
raking her nails over his back. “Do you remember the time you treated my
headache?”
He kissed
her deeply and nudged her legs apart. “I remember…”
“I dreamt of
your hands that night.”
“You did?”
“Well, I
dreamt of your hands on my body. You were making love to me… Hmm…”
“Is that
so?” Severus rocked against her, and she draped her legs over his hips, urging
him on.
He slid one
long finger between her legs, finding her ready for him. He looked at her
questioningly.
“What can I
say,” Jane murmured. “I’m hot for you.”
“I can see
that.”
“It’s you,
Severus, only you. Not Remus, not Basil, not anyone else. Only you do this to
me.”
He smiled at
her admission. It hadn’t been necessary, though. Her response to him had been
genuine. He’d known that she wasn’t thinking of anyone else while they were
making love. And, yet, her confession touched him deeply. It stroked his ego
and he liked that. Severus kissed her again and pushed into her slick tight
passage, filling her, stretching her. Her muscles immediately contracted around
him, drawing him deeper inside.
“That feels
good,” he groaned.
She squeezed
him again and he exhaled sharply.
“If you
don’t stop that now,” he warned her gruffly, “I won’t be able to last much
longer.”
Jane smiled
and kissed his shoulder. “I don’t mind.” She squeezed him again and he groaned.
Severus
grasped her shoulders and withdrew, before plunging back into her. Jane moaned
as he hit the base of her womb, sending jolts of pleasure through her body. She
shifted her hips, so he sunk even deeper with his next thrust, and Severus
thought he’d died and gone to Heaven. She clung to him for dear life, as he
drove into her faster, harder, and her moans became louder.
“Severus,” she
panted breathlessly, “please.”
He gritted his teeth and moved his hands to her buttocks.
Leaning back, he thrust into her from a different angle, and Jane’s moans
increased in pitch. She was frantically thrusting her hips against his now, and
he touched one thumb to the engorged nub between her folds. Screaming his name,
she exploded, contracting violently around him, squeezing him almost painfully.
He drove into her twice more, before his own powerful release hit him. With a
shout, he collapsed on top of her. They remained like this, still joined, until
their ragged breaths returned to normal and sleep claimed them once more.
===
Lost and
Found © 2005 by MMHG
===