Mastering Temptation

CHAPTER NINETEEN: A Very Happy Birthday







It was freezing, and the wind was blowing viciously when Hermione and Severus apparated onto the front walk of her house in Wiltshire. Severus fought to keep his cloak around him as he led her up the steps that led to her front door.





“Why didn’t you just take us inside?” He asked as she removed her wand from its hiding place in her boot and pointed it at the door.





“I have the house spelled to keep people from apparating inside; otherwise my friends would just be popping up at any given time. It’s difficult enough to keep them from flooing in any time they feel like it.” She said, shoving the door open and hurrying inside out of the cold.





“I suppose it would be inconvenient having your friends show up unannounced.” He said as he removed his cloak and hung it from the hall tree just inside her door.





“Would you like a drink?” She asked. “I have some red wine if you want.”





Hermione sat on the ottoman and removed her boots while Severus started a fire with a slight wave of his hand.



“No, I think I have had enough to drink for one night.” He said, taking a seat in the chair behind her and pulling the ottoman back against the chair. “Scoot back.” He whispered in her ear, his hands caressing her shoulders as she slid back between his legs to recline against him.





“Was it horrible for you? Going out with us tonight?” She asked, running her hands up and down his thighs when he settled his legs alongside her on the ottoman.





“It wasn’t horrible. I prefer to be alone with you, I suppose.” He said, pulling the elastic band from her hair.





“Mmmmm….that’s nice; it always feels so good to let my hair down when I’ve been wearing it up.” She said, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back onto his shoulder.





“You looked lovely tonight.” He said quietly, pushing her hair aside so he could kiss the side of her neck.





“You mean you noticed me over your swarm of admirers?” She teased, squeezing his thigh just above his knee.





“I didn’t notice a single one of them.” He said softly. “I’m a one witch sort of man. I see only you.”





“What a lovely thing to say.” Hermione tilted her head to the side to give him easier access to the sensitive line of her throat.





“I’m only stating a simple truth. I have neither the patience nor the desire to juggle multiple relationships.” He said, his breath ruffling the fine curls at the nape of her neck.





“Have you had many?” She asked, running her fingers along the crease in his trousers.





“Relationships?” He skimmed his fingertips along the back of her neck. “No, nothing serious at any rate. I find I am a solitary creature and that I am intolerant of socializing and extremely inept at it.” His dexterous fingers began to lower the zipper on the back of her dress, encouraging her to lean forward so he could untie the sash and open the closure completely.





“Aren’t you at all curious about my past?” She asked, her stomach clenching when his hands slid inside the opening of her dress and caressed the smooth skin of her back.





“No, I want to know nothing of any man who has known you before me. You will find that I am a possessive lover, Hermione, I want to be the only man who matters.” He lowered his head and pressed his heated lips between her shoulder blades while pushing the dress forward and down her arms.





“Since I’ve become involved with you I can barely remember that there was ever anyone else in my life before now.” She said quietly as she eased her arms from the dress.





“Good. I want your mind filled with thoughts of me and me alone.” Severus continued to press soft, teasing kisses along her shoulders. “Stop talking now, and let me touch you.” He said when she made to speak again.





He made easy work of her bra’s clasp, running his fingers over the red mark the strap left in her skin. He watched Hermione take the garment off and remove the serpent pin he had given her earlier. She reached over and set it on the side table before she tossed the bit of lace and satin onto the floor.





“Lift up and slide the dress off.” His voice was low and rough in her ear as his hands slid forward around her rib cage to cup and fondle her breasts. Hermione did as he said and then tossed the dress across the room onto the sofa. “You are so soft…” he flicked his thumbs over her nipples causing them to harden. “I enjoy touching you.”





Hermione moaned quietly, his soft, sweet words slowly melting her insides like chocolate left in the sun. She was learning quickly that Severus was never in a hurry. He always seemed to linger, especially when it came to the slow, methodical seduction of her desire. It was difficult for her to sit there and do nothing but allow him access to her body. She wanted to turn around and climb into his lap, demand that he consummate their relationship fully. But she didn’t, instead she took slow, deep breaths and tried to calm her tendencies to seek instant gratification.





“You’re struggling to remain still aren’t you?” He asked, smiling slightly against the side of her neck as he slid one hand up over her chest to stroke over her neck, the other slipping low over her stomach to toy with the lacy band of her knickers.





“Yes.” She breathed, fighting the urge to press into him. His fingertips dipped beneath the elastic waistband and slid slowly back and forth between her hip bones.





“Tell me what your body is telling you to do.” Severus let his hand encircle the base of her throat, his thumb stroking over the pounding pulse.





“Turn around…..climb onto his lap….”his fingers slid lower, dipping into the hot slickness between her thighs. “and make him take you.”





“Impatient little thing aren’t you?” He asked with a soft chuckle, his fingers continuing to slide over her sex. She wiggled against his touch, her breathing ragged and punctuated with tiny whimpers. “Ask me nicely to take you upstairs.”







“Please?” She pleaded, unable to stop herself from pressing her hips into his hand. “Take me upstairs, Severus.”





Severus withdrew his touch and nudged her forward slightly so he could move from behind her. He stood up and stared down at her sprawled across the ottoman and felt the slow burn of desire low in his belly. He removed his jacket as he stared at her, maintaining eye contact until she became distracted by his fingers moving over the buttons and looked away. He tossed the jacket onto the sofa with her discarded dress and held his hand out to her.





She was biting her lower lip gently when she took his hand and stood. With a slight smile he turned around and began to pull her slowly behind him as he led her up the stairs and down the hall towards her bedroom. Once inside the vanilla scented candles that littered the surfaces of her furniture sprang to life, casting the room in a soft, golden light. With a careless flick of his wand the decorative pillows on her bed vanished and the counterpane folded down to the foot of the bed slowly.





Severus tossed his ebony wand into a nearby chair and reached for her, pulling her against him as he covered her lips with his. He kissed her slowly, his tongue dipping shallowly between her lips and encouraging her to respond likewise. His hands moved slowly along the curve of her waist, his thumbs hooked into the sides of her knickers and pushed them over her hips and sent them falling to the floor around her feet.





He began to back her towards the bed, his lips still moving leisurely over hers as he braced her shoulders and lowered her onto the cool cotton sheets.





“Unbutton me.” He whispered against her lips, clasping her wrists and guiding her hands to his chest. He pulled back from the kiss and leaned over her, his hands pressed into the mattress beside her head. He watched her face as she unfastened the buttons of his starched, white shirt and then stood up and unfastened his cuffs before he shrugged out of the shirt and dropped it to the floor behind him. “Trousers next.” He said, enjoying her expression as she tugged impatiently on the fastenings of the woolen trousers.





“Easy…” He chuckled softly at her impatience. When she had them undone and hanging precariously on his hips she gasped softly and looked up.





“You aren’t wearing anything under them.” She said wonderingly.





“I very rarely do.” He said, winking at her as he bent over her, pushing her back onto the bed. “You should try it some time, it’s very freeing, not to mention the easy access it would provide.”





Hermione slid back on the bed when he crawled onto the mattress, kicking his shoes off so they thumped onto the floor as he stalked her across the bed like a predator. Hiding her excitement was impossible as she stared up at him. He was crouched over her on hands and knees, shirtless, his trousers undone and his hair falling forward in wild disarray as he stared down at her with that intense, black gaze.





“Go ahead; I know you are dying to touch.” He said softly. “And I want to feel your soft little hands.” He relaxed a little, sitting back on his heels with her thighs trapped between his legs. He watched her face as she reached up tentatively to touch the side of his face. He turned his head and nipped at her fingers gently when she brushed them over his lips. Her touch meandered over the side of his neck and along his shoulders before sliding down the center of his chest and tangling in the silky curls covering his pectorals.





Severus had never met such a tactile creature in all his life. There was something in her that needed contact with others, drew her to touch when she interacted with them. He had witnessed it time and again when he watched her with the Malfoys, she was frequently touching them, sometimes casually and sometimes with affection. At school she was always patting someone on the back, ruffling some child’s hair or hugging them as she offered encouragement and counsel. It was unconscious behavior for the most part, the way she would touch his arm when she was speaking to him or brush her hand over his shoulder as she passed by.





He had also come to realize that when it came to intimacy she loved to touch and be touched. She battled the most when her freedom to touch was tested and withheld. He could see the enjoyment and arousal in her slightly dazed expression as her fingers walked slowly over his chest. He groaned slightly when she brushed her fingernails over his nipples then down the firm plane of his stomach. His abdominal muscles tightened involuntarily when her hand slipped inside his open fly and wrapped around him. He let her explore his length for a few brief moments before grasping her wrist and removing her hand.





“Enough.” He said softly, moving to sit on the edge of her bed as he shoved his trousers and socks off, letting them fall to the floor. He slid back into the bed beside her and pulled her on top of him. “Sit up.”





Hermione adjusted herself over him, her knees flanking his hips as she sat upright, her hands braced on his stomach to steady her self.





“I like that you don’t try to hide yourself from me.” Severus said softly as he admired the soft, curving lines of her body.





“What’s the point? This is who I am, love it or not.” She said softly. “It’s easier with you; I feel beautiful and desirable when you look at me.”





“You are beautiful.” He lifted his hips and pressed against her. “You can feel just how desirable you are.”





She gasped softly and shifted her hips over him, her eyes growing wide and her body stiffening when the tip of his erection slid between her increasingly slick folds.



“If this is what you want, take it.” He wrapped his fingers around her wrists and gave them a sharp tug forward so that her hands slid up his stomach and over his chest, pressing her along the length of his torso. “But understand that once I am inside you, you belong to me completely.” He whispered darkly.





“I would have to say it’s too late for that…..I already belong to you completely.” She whispered, moaning softly as the tip of his arousal nudged inside her. She was anxious to have him buried completely inside her, but her long abstinence combined with his size made things difficult. He grabbed her hips to slow her descent.





“Stop, slow down before you hurt yourself. There’s no hurry, we have all night.” He whispered. Severus used his grasp to guide her movement, slowly nudging deeper inside with each rise and fall of her hips until he was nestled completely inside the snug warmth of her body.





She cried out softly, her head falling forward to rest against his shoulder when he was fully seated inside her. She felt filled completely, stretched and consumed all at once. Sex had always been about filling a need or appeasing another person but this time was different and she couldn’t quite place her finger on it. All she knew for sure was that she would never be the same after him.





Severus gave her the time she needed to adjust to having him inside her; he smoothed his hands up and down her back as she rested on his chest. Truth be known he needed a moment himself to gain some measure of control. He had known from the start that being with her would be different, but he hadn’t been prepared for the sudden realization that the physical act of making love had never been and never would be as important as it was with Hermione.





When she was settled and her body had grown accustomed to him she sat up slowly and braced her hands on his shoulders. He didn’t move or say anything. He just laid there, his inky hair spread over her pillow and his black eyes staring up at her as he waited. She began to move tentatively over him, her lips parting on a sigh at the intensity of the pleasure those small, shallow movements brought.





When she found the rhythm that suited her Severus began to thrust up into her with every down stroke of her hips. She gasped softly and began to move faster, her fingers curling against his shoulders and her nails biting into his skin. Severus became mesmerized by the euphoric expression on her face: eyes closed, lips parted, her breath coming in sharp little pants and the occasional whimper. He had never seen anything so intensely arousing in all his life as the witch hovering over him.





He was well aware of every subtle change in her expression and in her movement. He waited until her expression became tense and her movements almost desperate. When he was certain that she was close to climaxing her wrapped his arms tight around her and rolled her quickly onto her back.





“Severus!” Her fingernails raked over his shoulders as she registered her surprise and frustration at having her orgasm thwarted. “What are you…..OH!”





Severus grabbed her hands and pinned them to the pillow beside her head, his fingers entwined with hers.





“I let you have your turn, now it’s mine.” He whispered his voice deep and a bit rough as he began to thrust slowly in and out of her. “Don’t worry my little hellion; I will not leave you wanting.”





Restrained as she was she could not grab him, touch him, pull him deeper and harder into her the way she wanted. She tried lifting her hips, pressing into him and taking what she wanted, what she needed but he would simply back off and deny her the appeasement she sought.



“Please….don’t toy with me, Severus.” She sobbed; her frustration and need had reached an almost unbearable state.





“Shhhh…stop trying to force it….calm down and just feel…..don’t try to make it happen, let it happen, let me give you what you need.” He whispered, his lips skimming along her cheekbones and down to her ear. “Trust me, please.”





Hermione stilled her agitated movements and took long, slow, deep breaths as she tried to calm her clamoring body. She lay as still as she could beneath him as he continued to whisper soothingly against her ear, asking for her trust and assuring her over and over that he would see to her needs.





“That’s good, just relax.” He tightened his fingers around hers and resumed his slow, steady thrusting. He groaned in approval when she began to arch her hips in response, a gentle undulation instead of the desperate, frenzied movements of before.





“Ah…yes….oh that feels good.” She panted, her eyes closing as she arched her back. She could feel every inch of him sliding inside her as he edged her closer and closer to the release she longed for. His breathing hitched and he began to groan slightly as he too moved closer to orgasm.





“Open your eyes…..look at me.” He said breathlessly as his movements increased in both pace and force. Hermione opened her eyes and met his gaze as he moved steadily between her thighs. With one solid thrust she went over, struggling to keep her eyes open as wave after wave of sensation washed over her. Her thighs shook with the intensity of her orgasm, the cry wrenched from her hoarse and breathless. Severus followed her over with a low growl, the tight, clutching grip of her sex drawing his release from deep within him. He pressed his lips into the side of her neck, moving slowly to her lips where he kissed her lightly for several long moments.





Severus rolled off of her and tucked her against his side, his fingers running idly over her curls as he contemplated what they had just done. He had crossed the line that meant there was no going back. He had consummated a relationship with a woman who was half his age, a former student and current employee. Yet he did not feel the remorse he had expected to, in fact no guilt whatsoever nagged at his conscience, only the sated euphoria that came with amazing sex.





A soft smile tugged at his lips as he turned his head to kiss her temple. He chuckled lightly when he realized that she was already asleep, her palm resting over the center of his chest.









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Darque Hart – Sorry you were disappointed in the club scene, love. But as much as I would love it, and as much as I write the characters OOC, I just cant see Severus on a dance floor doing a slow bump and grind LOL, would give my right arm to see it, but I don’t think it would happen. Now as to his age….my understanding is he was in his mid to late 30s when the kids came to school….so after 7 years he would be early to mid forties…..now this story I am writing as about 7-8 years after she left school….so he would be late forties mayhap early 50s…not many people clubbing at his age LOL







Bluezauza- you’d have to get in line behind me for a shot at having him as master LOL, though I assume Lucius to be wealthy enough to be sugardaddy to more than a few and Draco has youth on his side as far as playthings go. : )





SavineSnape – would love to control the Malfoy boys LOL…..thanks for reading