Sub Rosa

Chapter 17 – Taking the Plunge

Severus swore as he read the letter. He knew that Narcissa wouldn’t be fooled for long. He knew befriending Kathryn would be dangerous. Damn the Malfoys to the seven hells anyway.

She sat quietly, waiting for him to be done pacing and swearing before speaking. He slowly calmed down.
Having vented his anger and frustrations, he flung himself into a chair and stared at Albus.

“What sort of test do you think they will set up?” Kathryn asked him when he was finally still.

“Loyalty to the cause, I suppose.” He muttered, grinding the heels of his hands into his tired eyes.

“I think it more likely that they will test the truth of her earlier assertions.” Albus said quietly, his eyes solemn for once. Kathryn blushed bright red at his words, but it took Severus a few minutes to figure out what he was talking about, before he felt himself going a little faint.

“Me and my temper. The Old Lady always said it would bite me in the ass one day.” Kathryn was blushing and looking anywhere than at him. Severus himself was horrified; it wasn’t that the idea of bedding Kathryn was unpalatable, but to do it just to throw Voldemort off the scent was simply appalling. It felt like a perversion of their friendship.

“I am certain that I have done more disgusting things as a Death Eater, but I can’t really think of anything right now.” He grumbled. Kathryn laughed out loud.

“Thanks, Severus, you know how to make a girl feel wanted.” She howled with laughter, obviously not offended by his comments, but highly amused at his delivery. He found himself smirking back at her.

“You know full well what I meant.” He chided, but was grateful for the easing of tensions.

“Of course I did, but any other women would be scratching your eyes out.” She chuckled as she wiped the tears from her eyes and he found himself smiling at the image of McGonagall or Rosmerta responding to such a statement.

“I still suspect that they will be more concerned about my opinion of Voldemort than my sex life.” She shook her head at Albus.

“If it were Lucius we had to worry about, yes, I would agree with you. But, Narcissa is a different matter.” Severus nodded as Albus spoke.

“She will be more concerned that you made a fool of her than whether or not you are loyal to the Dark Lord.” Kathryn was watching him quietly, simply absorbing the information. She sighed and wriggled in her chair, uncomfortable, but not arguing.

“Well, this is awkward.” She looked at Severus and shrugged, as if asking him what he wanted to do about it.

“I think it would be better if you discussed the situation in privacy.” Albus suggested, picking up his quill and going back to work. Feeling way out of his depth, Severus rose and offered Kathryn his arm. She pushed herself out of the chair and, grimacing, took it.

Her rooms were closer, so ten minutes later found them in her chamber, seated on the couch. The silence between them was uncomfortable.

“Oh for goodness sake! We are both adults, we are both spies and we have both had to do this before.” She stood up abruptly and cane in hand stumped off towards the bedroom. He rose and followed her, feeling a rising excitement mingled with shame and a sense of anger. Anger, because he didn’t like the thought that this is the only way he would ever get a woman like this in bed with him.

“Kathryn, it’s not that sleeping with you is particularly repulsive…” He trailed off as he stepped into her bedroom. She was undressing quietly and she looked at him in surprise.

“Well, I am not adverse to you either, Severus. It’s just that…” She looked down at the floor. “I haven’t let anyone near me since the Naga bit me.” Feeling ten different kinds of fool, Severus crossed to her quickly. He had been so caught up in his own feelings of ugliness and inadequacy that he had forgotten about Kathryn’s leg. He caught her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him.

“Kathryn you are a beautiful woman and no amount of scarring can change that.” She smiled at him softly, but with disbelief in her eyes.

Not sure what else to do, Severus kissed her. It was much less awkward than he thought it would ber ler lips were soft and warm and she fit against him quite comfortably.

It had been a long time since he had held a woman but his body seemed to have forgotten nothing. Her mouth opened beneath his and he deepened the kiss. She seemed content to let him lead and he pulled her close against him, their bodies touching all along their lengths. He held her tightly, afraid to overbalance her or cause her to fall.

When he finally broke the kiss, they were both breathless and Kathryn was looking at him as though she had never properly seen him before.

He helped her to the bed and they sat down on it, side by side. She rested her head on his shoulder.

“I don’t have a whole lot of friends, Severus.” Her voice was unsure and there was sadness in it. “I am a little scared we’re going to mess it all up.”

“How about if I promise to respect you in the morning?” He snapped, fearing much the same himself. She laughed and swatted him.

“Jerk.” He grinned at her and slipped an arm around her.

“Harridan.” He responded and turned her in his arms to kiss her again, her legs draped across his lap. She wrapped herself around him, responding sweetly to his kisses. He laid her back on the bed and began to explore her face and throat with his lips. She gasped as he nibbled at her earlobe and arched against him as he trailed kisses down her throat.

Her hands came up and slipped behind his head, fingers grasping his hair and pulling him back to her mouth.
She moved sensuously against him, her hips rubbing lightly against his crotch. Heat flared in him and he moaned in response. She was certainly talented, he thought, as her left hand began trailing down his back, leaving a tingling in its wake. He was aroused with nothing more than a wriggle and a caress, something unprecedented in his past history.

She sighed against him as he ran his own hand down her front, cupping her breast lightnd snd stroking his thumb across her nipple. Her robes buttoned in front and he tugged the buttons free and slipped his hand inside against the warmth of her skin. She was soft and round in all the right places and he was rapidly forgetting the whys and becoming lost in the now. Right now, she was panting as he caressed her and rubbed at the nipple still imprisoned by the soft fabric of her bra.

She fumbled for her wand; pulling it free of her sleeve and a muttered incantation lathey hey were both free of restricting clothing. She set her wand on the bedside table along with his.

“You are going to have to learn patience, Kathryn.” He murmured in her ear and she shivered.

“You know, you could read me the Floo Network Guide and I would be content just to listen for hours.” Her comment made him smile. No one had ever said anything positive about his voice before. He had always been told his voice was cutting, never sexy. Certainly, they had never said it while running their hands down his back and cupping his ass.

Now that he had free access to her body, he decided to take advantage of that fact. He began to explore her in earnest. Item: two breasts with satin smooth skin and hard nipples that responded beautifully to both tongue and fingers. Item: two arms, that twined delightfully around him, stroking and caressing him in the most arousing manner. She ran a hand along his thigh and Severus lost track of his thought processes.

She was wet where she was grinding against him, her breath was coming fast and her eyes were suddenly dark and filled with need. Leisurely exploration vanished from his agenda and he slipped his finger down into her warmth and stroked her lightly, feeling her tremble underneath him. She spread her legs to give him free access, her own hand reaching to stroke his cock to even further hardness.

“Ha, so at least I guessed correctly.” She purred as she caressed him. “The nose thing.” She reminded him when he gazed at her, puzzled. He found himself grinning at her, his masculine ego feeling quite well stroked.

“I suppose you wouldn’t have believed me if I’d just told you?” He whispered into her hair and she curled against him.

“Experience is still the best teacher.” She replied in prim tones completely at odds with what they were doing. He laughed and plunged his fingers inside of her, causing her to buck hard against him, gasping and moaning. “Oh god, Severus!” She cried as he pumped his fingers in and out of her. She clutched at him, her head thrown back, her eyes closed and he had never seen anything quite so lovely.

Careful of her leg, he moved on top of her and slid her legs a little farther apart. She grabbed his cock and guided it into her and he pushed within, groaning in pleasure. She was hot and soft and the muscles clamped around him in a manner designed to drive him mad with need. She moved in time with him, her right leg wrapped around his leg, while he carefully avoided jostling her injured leg as much as possible.

Moving inside her felt right and natural; she was perfect under him, their rhythms matching quickly. He sought her mouth with his own and she took his kiss and gave him the sweetest moment of his life as she came beneath him, shouting his name. He had been so long without a woman that he was simply unable to keep from pouring his seed into her a minute later. His hoarse shout was swallowed up in her kiss as they relaxed finally into each other’s arms.

“Well, that wasn’t too bad.” She grinned at him sleepily.

“It was hardly my best effort.” He shrugged and pulled the blankets over them.

“Oh, so I’m not worth your best effort?” She teased, poking him gently in the shoulder.

“You are worth far more than my best effort.” The words were out of his mouth before he quite realized it and he was faced with a naked Amazon, rage snapping in her eyes.

“I thought I had warned you about saying shit like that!” Her voice fillfilled with fury and very vulnerable parts of his anatomy were in striking distance.

“I’m sorry, it just slipped out. I didn’t mean it. Please I’m sorry.” He spoke quickly, hoping to defuse her anger. He had noticed that it was a flash fire, here and then gone quickly. She relaxed beside him and looked him in the eye with great seriousness.

“You are really amazing, Severus. You have so many incredible qualities: you are great in bed, you are brilliant, funny, charming, you have the sexiest voice and yet you run yourself down all the time.” She shook her head, her hair falling onto his chest. “I don’t get it.”

“Well, first off, you are the first woman I’ve had in bed in over fifteen years.” Her eyes widened in surprise. “Secondly, you are the first to think I was any good at it.” She frowned and started to say something, but he pressed a finger to her lips. “Third, I may be brilliant, but I have spey liy life listening to how ugly and undesirable I am. Look, would you be here now if Narcissa wasn’t pushing this on us?”

Her face went thoughtful and she studied him.

“To be honest, I think we would have ended up here sooner or later.” Her words took him completely by surprise. He stared at her in shock. “You are in many ways, my perfect man. You understand my life as only another spy can, you laugh at my jokes, you talk to me like I have a brain and you are drop dead sexy. Given enough time, I would have come to that conclusion on my own.” She sighed then. “I am not entirely sure I would have acted on it though.”

He waited for it, the reason she would have rejected him.

“I hate starting something I can’t finish.” Again he was surprised. It wasn’t his looks or his personality or his past. It was their future -- or lack thereof. Her eyes were sad and she cuddled up against his side. He knew they were both feeling vulnerable in the aftermath of their coupling. “I am only here for a year, Severus, then it’s back to dodging dark wizards in America.”

“I’ll take what I can get.” He puller clr close, storing up memories against the long dark after she was gone.