The Affair

Chapter Twenty-One: Daring





What is life without risk? – Anonymous







It was Sunday night when Lucius felt the tips of his fingers tingling at dinner. He curled them into his palm and tried not to smile. She was thinking about him. It always thrilled him to get that little tingle, to know that he was in her thoughts when they were apart. She was almost always on his mind.





He hated the weekend. She had weekends off and he never failed to miss her. They spent two days a week in the hunting lodge. They would make love and talk for hours then she would curl up in his arms while he read to her. They were halfway through the story of Abelard and Heloise. It was a story of ill fated love that didn’t end well and they found themselves relating to it more than they liked.





He had never been happier or more content than he was when he was spending time alone with her. He stood in his study, his fingertips still tingling as he read the note just delivered by his servant. He had called upon an old source within the ministry and discovered that Auror Weasley was out on a mission which meant Hermione was all alone and judging by the tingle in his fingertips, she was thinking about him.







He wasted no time apparating to the patio in back of her house. He could see the soft glow of light through a window and he edged closer. Through the sheers he could see her sitting in the center of a large bed with her knees pulled up, her nightgown covering them, reading a book. Did she never tire of reading?





He pecked on the window lightly and saw her start. He stepped to the side, hiding from her as he lifted his fingertips and blew gently across them, stimulating the thread of magic between them. He knew she would feel the tingle in her palm and know it was him. He heard the snap of the latch and then she was raising the sash, her head poking out and looking about.







“Miss me?” He asked, leaning back against the house. She stared at him, smirking slightly as she shook her head.







“You don’t give a witch a chance to miss you, Lucius. What are you doing here?” She asked, leaning out of the window.





“You were thinking about me…how could I not come when you were so clearly longing for me?” He purred, grinning wickedly.







“You and that bloody spell of yours. Is a woman not permitted to fantasize in private?” She asked, curling her marked hand into her fist.







“Why should you fantasize all alone when I am available for your use?” He moved in front of her and placed his hands on the window sill, ducking his head to caress her lips with his.







“You shouldn’t be here, Lucius.” She whispered, moaning softly as his tongue slid over her bottom lip. “He’s going to be home soon, he can’t find you in the house.”







“Then I won’t come in the house.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her through the window. She squealed, laughing as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “Now, tell me you missed me.” He demanded, pressing her back against the house.





She laughed and wrapped her arms and legs around him as she pressed light, smacking kisses against his lips. He was the only person who could make her laugh it seemed, the only one who could make her smile. As dangerous as it was for him to be there she was glad he had come, she had missed him.







“You grow too bold, Lucius.” She said quietly. Even as she chastised him she couldn’t let him go. She held him close against her body, moving against him with a longing that only seemed to increase the more they were together. “I do miss you when we are apart, but we can’t be together all the time, you know that.”







Lucius closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her fingers moving through his hair and the flexing of her thighs around his waist as she rubbed up against him. Why couldn’t he get enough of her? Why was he sending servants to fetch her pillow from the cottage for him at night so he could sleep with her scent in his nostrils? Why is it he couldn’t think of anything but her?







“If I could I would take you away from here and never look back.” He buried his face in the side of her neck, kissing her soft skin and inhaling her heady scent.







“You shouldn’t say such things, Lucius.” She closed her eyes and let her head fall back giving him complete access to her throat.







“It’s the truth. I want to take you away and lock you up with me in some lavish palace where you will never wear clothing or leave my sight again.” He whispered roughly against her ear. He nipped the fleshy lobe and swirled his tongue in the delicate shell as he moved his lips back to hers. It wasn’t so much a kiss that they shared as it was a mating of mouths. His hand moved slowly up her thigh, aching to dip his fingers into the sweet, wet haven between her legs and feel the slippery welcome he had come to know so well.





“It sounds like a beautiful dream….god, we can’t, Lucius….” Her words were cut off with a groan when his fingertips skimmed the wet petals of her sex.







“Hermione!” She stiffened in his arms immediately, her eyes going wide as she heard her name being called from inside the house.







“Oh no…he’s home. You need to leave. Now.” She scrambled out of his arms and shoved her nightgown down.







“I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asked, touching her cheek lightly. She turned to look back at the house when she heard Ron’s voice calling her again. She looked into Lucius’s eyes and felt a just a slight prick of guilt but she pushed it aside and reached up to kiss him quickly.







“Tomorrow, just us in our cottage. Now go!” She pushed him back and he disappeared just as the backdoor opened.







“There you are!” Ron frowned as he stepped out onto the patio.







“Welcome home.” She said quietly. “How was work?”







“Busy…what are you doing out here?” He asked, closing the back door and walking towards her.





“Just stargazing.” She lied.







“In your nightie?” He bent his head and she offered him her cheek. He hesitated for a moment, wondering when it was that she had stopped offering him her lips when he greeted her at night. He kissed her cheek lightly, realizing the damage he had done by not coming home, by keeping her at a distance for so long.





“It’s a nice night and it was an impulse, I was about to go to bed actually.” She said, taking a step away from him.







“You smell nice…kind of spicy. Is that a new perfume?” He asked. Hermione felt her pulse race, it wasn’t her scent that he was smelling, it was Lucius’s scent on her. How was she to explain that?







“No…I was in a boutique today trying some scents…I didn’t buy anything. Maybe I will take a shower first, and then go to bed.” She stammered, hoping the lie took.







“I am glad you are getting out more, taking an interest in things. Shopping and working…it’s nice to see you smiling.” He said quietly, awkwardly.







She looked at him and tried to decipher what it was that she felt for him. She still found his boyish looks attractive but she didn’t feel an attraction to him. She still felt love when she looked at him but it didn’t feel the same as it had a year ago. She hated deceiving him, but she didn’t feel guilty, not as guilty as she should at any rate. Why was that?







“Thank you, Ron.” She gave him a half smile and stepped around him. “I’m going to have a shower and go to bed now, goodnight.” Without another word she stepped inside and left him all alone in the dark, wondering if they would ever find their way back from the place they were.











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Im so sorry to have stumped you all with Ron…..no Im not! Im thrilled to have shocked you! Yes, Hermione is in the wrong here. Im so glad you guys are sticking with this, I promise it will work out…….