This Subdued Fire

Anti-Litigation Charm: yadda yadda not mine, don\'t sue me.
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Three days later, Hermione was something of a wreck. After the first night of their detention, Malfoy made it his sole purpose to torment her. They always ended the same way: Malfoy trying his damnedest to seduce her. And, God help her, Hermione was beginning to succumb. It was the morning after the last night of scrubbing the classrooms. She lay in bed thinking about what had happened in Snape\'s class, way down in the dungeons.
*******
Malfoy had taken up his usual spot, lounging at one of the tables. Hermione was doing the work. Her knees were nearly raw from being on them scrubbing night after night. He, as was his wont, tossed out suggestions which Hermione found to be intolerable, but highly bloody tempting.

\"You know Granger, you could always snap your fingers and this room would be clean in a trice.\"

\"Malfoy. That would be the easy way out.\" She shot him a withering glance.

\"Oh yes. I\'d forgotten. You like to make things oh, so difficult. And all in the name of doing the right thing. If it weren\'t for that giant stick up your arse, you\'d be rather fun.\"

\"And if you weren\'t such an arrogant twit, *you\'d* be fun. So I suppose we\'re at an impasse.\" Hermione turned back to her task, which was rearranging Snape\'s bookcases. The Potions Master wanted all his bookshelves cleaned and all the books back in alphabetical order. It was a daunting proposal, since Snape was, apparently, an avid reader.

When she said Malfoy would be fun, she meant it. Malfoy was witty and amusing in a dry, sarcastic way. He was highly intelligent, which was something she expected. Draco was full of quips and anecdotes about the teachers and student, most of which Hermione had to stop herself from laughing hysterically at. She\'d often thought some of the same things, yet stopped herself from saying them out loud. (And...Dammit, when did I start thinking of him as \"Draco?\" I NEVER think of him as Draco. Snap out of it, Hermione.)

\"Granger?\"

\"Yes?\"

\"Find anything interesting back there?\"

\"If you were actually working, you\'d know the answer to that.\"

\"And how many times must I tell you that Malfoys don\'t do actual work. We do pretend work.\" Malfoy slipped her an engaging grin.

Hermione giggled in spite of herself.

\"Well! She does have a sense of humor after all!\" Hermione schooled her features back into impassivity. \"Granger, it was a joke. You can laugh, you know.\"

Hermione, who was perched on a step-stool, looked over her shoulder at the blond boy. \"When you say something funny, then I\'ll laugh,\" she replied primly. Hermione pulled an old copy of \'Playwitch\' from behind a stack of books. \"Here\'s something for you to amuse yourself with.\"

She tossed it down to Malfoy. He immediately opened it up to the centerfold. \"Good Lord. Would you look at that!\"

Hermione made a face. \"I\'d rather not. Just tell me who it is.\"

\"It\'s our old friend Professor McGonagall.\"

\"You\'re lying.\"

\"I wouldn\'t lie about something like this. She was a right nice old bird back in the day. Lovely pair of bristols.\"

\"Ew. Please let that be the end of your description.\"

\"Let\'s see what her turn ons and turn offs are....Turn ons: Scorpios, Men in kilts, Scorpio men in kilts and Quidditch. Turn offs: Long beards, know-it-alls, half-moon spectacles. Well...this is very illuminating. Do you think she\'s talking about a certain headmaster we all know?\" Draco waggled his eyebrows exaggeratedly.

Hermione grinned. \"Oh...I don\'t know...could be...\" She let an amused chuckle slip out.

Hermione turned back to cleaning and Malfoy went back to flipping through the magazine. They fell into a comfortable silence. After awhile, Hermione looked around to see where Malfoy had gotten to. She didn\'t see his bright blond head out of the corner of her eye.

\"Damn him. He could at least have stuck around, given the appearance of work.\" Hermione pursed her lips in annoyance and went back to arranging the things on the top shelf. She felt something wiggling the stool underneath her feet. But it stilled and she went back to working. Wiggle, wiggle. There it was again, only stronger. Wiggle, wiggle. The stool continued to shift until it was wobbling uncontrollable and she toppled off. Instead of hitting the ground, she landed in Malfoy\'s outstretched arms.

\"Um, thanks for catching me, Malfoy. You can put me down now.\" Hermione felt distinctly uncomfortable in his grasp.

Malfoy merely smiled his devilish smile. He jiggled her in his arms. \"You are a little bit of a thing after all. What are you, 115?\"

\"129, actually. Come now, put me down.\" Hermione put on her best McGonagall voice.

Instead of putting her down, he carried her over to Snape\'s leather chair and sat down with her in his lap. Hermione made to get up, but Malfoy\'s arms clamped iron-tight around her.

\"Please, do not let this be a repeat of last night. I have no wish to be kissed by you.\"

\"Who said anything about kissing?\" Malfoy slid his hands up her back. She could feel his touch burning through the thin cloth of her t-shirt.

\"You think I don\'t know what you\'re doing. You\'re trying to seduce me into agreeing to your dirty blackmail.\"

\"Is it working?\" Malfoy licked the side of her neck.

\"Hey, you said no kissing. And no, it\'s not working.\"

\"Little liar. And I\'m not kissing you. Not at all.\" He flicked his tongue over the itivitive part right below her ear.

\"God, you\'re unfair, Malfoy.\"

\"I told you, Granger. You give me what I want, and I\'ll give you what you want. I won\'t wait around forever.\" He nipped her
earlobe, sending a shiver up her spine.

\"Do you really mean that you would tell Voldemort about me if I don\'t sleep with you?\"

He set her away from him. The look in his eyes chilled her to the bone. \"Yes, I would.\"

It reminded Hermione of who she was dealing with. Malfoy could be as charming and funny as he wanted and still full of venom, just like the serpent of Eden. (He was sorted into his correct house), she thought then. She pushed his arms away from her and leapt out of his lap.

\"You are so despicable. Will you stop at nothing to get your way? Have you no shred of honor?\"

\"My honor must be earned. Not given freely.\"

\"You are a self-serving bastard.\" Hermione\'s eyes shot daggers at Malfoy.

Malfoy replied softly, \"Don\'t ever forget that.\" He got up and went to her. \"You want it just as much as I do. Maybe more.\"He twisted his hand into her ponytail, holding her there.

\"I do not want this. It\'s your own brain deluding itself into thinking that.\" Hermione\'s eyes were full of golden fire.

\"I may be many things Granger, but delusional isn\'t one of them.\" Malfoy leaned in and sucked on the tender flesh of her neck. Hermione was caught helpless between her urge to flee and her urge to give in. She finally mustered up the wherewithal to push him away. He grinned malevolently at her.

\"Well. That\'ll leave a mark.\"

\"You didn\'t.\"

\"I most assuredly did.\" The grin widened.

Hermione went to look at her reflection in one of the glass beakers that Snape had on the boil. She saw the beginnings of a large hickey. She looked up at Malfoy. If looks could\'ve killed he surely would\'ve been dead on the spot. Hermione stood in the spot, rooted. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind of everything. Right before Malfoy\'s eyes, he could see the red spot flare up briefly and then begin, outwards in, to turn the same unblemished color of Hermione\'s neck.

\"Bravo.\" Malfoy clapped mockingly. \"You might be able to erase the physical Granger, but you\'ll never forget how it *felt.*
Never.\" Malfoy looked at her hard. It seemed as if he were willing the sensation into her.

And damnit, it was working. Hermione felt as if she\'d be branded with Malfoy\'s personal seal. She reached up unconsciously and rubbed the now-clear spot on her neck. Malfoy, seeing it smiled again and walked out of the classroom, whistling softly to himself.
***************

Hermione awoke the next day after spending an inordinately short time sleeping. What little sleep she did have was not restful. She tossed and turned, thinking about the devil\'s bargain that Malfoy presented. His arguments were perfectly logical. That kiss was something else altogether. Hermione had to admit that she was thinking with her glands instead of her head. Then again, if she didn\'t give in to him, he would tell Voldemort. Or someone. It didn\'t matter who. As soon as the world knew, the Dark Lord would know. Her life wouldn\'t be worth squat once that happened. All sorts of terrible scenarios played themselves out in her head. Each one was more horrid than the next. She would have to acquiese to keep all of them safe. Her parents, herself, Harry, Ron, Ginny. All of them. She wondered if this was how Harry felt everyday that he woke up. The weight of her decision was like a cloak made of iron around her shoulders.

Hermione\'s mind was made up. She sat up and yanked the sheets back impatiently. She marched into the bathroom and went through her morning routine quickly. Hermione flounced out and dried off quickly. Pulling on her clothes, she sat at her desk and scribbled out a terse note.

*Meet me at the Astronomy Tower, 2 am. Don\'t be late.
H.*
Hermione couldn\'t think of a better place to meet than there. She thought it rather ironic that the one girl who wouldn\'t be caught dead in that place would end up there, with the man who\'d seen that place the most. She smiled, thinking of Professor Sinistra\'s ongoing irritation with students who insisted on using the Astronomy Tower as a trysting place.

Hermione sealed the parchment and went to the Owlery to mail it off. She didn\'t risk using her own owl because Boolean was too recognizable. As Harry\'s owl, Hedwig, was snowy white, Hermione\'s was nearly black. His feathers were a very dark sable brown and he had an impressive wingspan. She selected a tawny barn owl .

\"Draco Malfoy, if you please.\" She smiled at the owl and petted its head. The owl nipped softly at her finger. He took the parchment in his beak and flew out of the open door. Hermione exhaled. And that, as they say, is that, she thought. She checked her watch. It was time for breakfast. Not that she was was hungry, but it would be strange if she failed to make an appearance. She walked into the castle and trudged up the grand staircase heavily. Her actions were weighing heavily upon her.

She went into the Great Hall and took her place among the other Gryffindors. Hermione saw the school owl swing into the Hall. The bird dropped the note into Draco\'s plate and flew back to the owlery. The Slytherin opened it and scanned the contents. He looked up and saw Hermione looking at him. Draco winked like a smarmy bastard and went back to his breakfast.

Hermione, having no appetite for food, left the table.
********
The day sped by like Road Runner on meth. Soon, it was night, midnight to be precise. Only two hours until Hermione\'s appointed time with Malfoy. She paced her room agitatedly.

\"How could I have been so stupid? I\'m an *idiot*! Letting him catch me like that! I should\'ve just hexed him and been done with it. Bugger! Bugger, bugger, bugger! And to bloody *sleep* with him! Jesus, Granger, all time low there, innit old girl? Damn my own stupidity.\"

Hermione sank down on the bed, worn out from her pacing and raving. She held her head in her hands and cried, something she rarely did. The tears weren\'t for herself, but the wretched situation. Once unleashed, she couldn\'t stop herself from crying. The small whimpers turned into great gulping sobs. Hermione happened to look up in her misery and catch a glimpse of herself in the dresser mirror.

\"Don\'t I look a mess? I\'ve gotten myself into this farce. I might as well play my part with some dignity.\"

She got up and went into the bathroom. The mirror which hung over the sink was characteristically snotty.

\"Well, missy, those red eyes will never do. You look terrible. Not that you were fantastically gorgeous to begin with.\"

\"You know...you *can* be replaced.\" Hermione threatened the mirror dryly.

\"Fine. I won\'t say another word.\"

\"Good.\" She swung the mirror open to reveal the contents of the medicine cabinet.

There were eye drops and a paucity of cosmetics on the shelves, next to the toothe ane and floss. Hermione pulled out face soap and eye drops from cabinet and closed the door. Turning on the taps, she gave her face a brisk scrubbing and put the drops in her eyes to clear the redness from them.

\"Let\'s face it - I\'ll never win a beauty contest.\"

\"Glad to hear you admit it,\" The mirror commented. For once, she agreed with the looking glass. Hermione looked at the shortness of her nose, the pointyness of her chin. She saw a multitude of small flaws that added up to one big flaw in her book.
She opened the cabinet once again and replaced the soap and drops and took out the cosmetics. Hermione started to swipe on a coat of mascara and decided against it.

\"If Malfoy really and truly is going to go through with this, he\'s going to get the real me, warts and all.\"

She exited the bathroom and pulled off her school clothes and got into a pair of purple flannel pajamas. She looked at the clock, it was nigh onto two am. Pulling on a cloak, she slipped out of her room, down the stairs and out of Gryffindor Tower.

Hermione made her way stealthily along the darkened hallways to the Astronomy Tower. She heard fast heavy footsteps ahead. She could catch a whiff of Drakkar Noir on the still night air. It was Snape. Only he still wore that stuff. Hermione wrinkled her nose and looked around for a place to hide. There wasn\'t one. No side corridors, no classrooms with their doors opened...there simply was nowhere to go.

Snape\'s feet were coming up quick and hard. She summoned her powers. *\"Hermione Invisibilis.\"* Hermione could see herself start to fade away. Feet first, then legs and so on until she was completely transparent.

(This is so useful.) Hermione giggled with the thought of what could be accomplished with this spell. \'Twas like an internal Invisibility Cloak. She moved silently down the hall and came face to face with Snape.

The scent of his cologne nearly overpowered her. She almost coughed and gave away the game. Harry had told her of how Snape could almost sense him when he\'d worn the Invisibility Cloak during first year. Snape was in a cheerful mood, the first she\'d ever seen. He fairly radiated good vibes. Hermione couldn\'t resist.

She stuck an invisible foot out. Snape went tripping headlong onto the floor.

\"Dammit, Peeves! I thought I told you to leave me alone!\" Snape picked himself up and continued on his way.

*\"Severus Leviosa,\"* Hermione whispered at Snape. He went floating off of the gray flagstones.

\"Who\'s there! I know it isn\'t Peeves! Show yourself!\"

*\"Inverto.\"* Snape flipped upside down in the air. His robes were now somewhere around his head.

(Hm....I never would\'ve guessed that Snape wore Batman knickers. Figures,) Hermione thought with great glee. She\'d have kept Snape there, but time was of the essence. She ended the spells and left pro professor sitting on the stone floor, bemused.

Hermione reached the door to the observatory and went inside. Draco saw the door open and close, but no one was there.

You can come out from under that cloak, you know.\"

\"I\'m not under a cloak. *Revelatio*.\" Hermione became visible in the wink of an eye.

\"Impressive, Granger. You\'re late.\"

\"I was unavoidably detained.\" Hermione grinned, thinking of her interlude with Snape.

\"Well, well. Have you got some other lover you\'ve been trysting with?\" Draco inquired nastily.

\"No, I have not, and *you* should know that.\"

\"Well, how am I supposed to know what you wretched Gryffindors get up to at night? I\'ve heard tales of the most prurient sort
floating around...\"

Hermione made a face. \"If you did hear rumors, rest assured, they were most likely about you, not anyone in *my* House.\"

Draco smirked. \"Well, none of my ladies can resist...\"

\"This one can.\" Hermione\'s face became set. \"And I\'m not your lady.\"

\"We will see about that.\" Draco waved his hand and her cloak flew away to reveal her pajamas.

\"Malfoy. *Wandless* magic?!\" Her mind went back to the night that this all started. He hadn\'t had a wand then, either. Yet he sent her crashing against a table with a flick of his hand. \"I\'d forgotten...the fight. You didn\'t have a wand then. You son of a bitch.\"

\"But of course. Did you think that I, a Malfoy, would be bested by a Muggle?\"

\"You are really screwed up, you know that? I could rat on you just as easily as you could rat on me.\"

\"You could, but you won\'t.\"

\"I hate you.\"

\"Do I care?\" Suddenly Malfoy stepped in front of Hermione.

He was so close she could smell his aftershave. It smelled of limes and pepper. The scent suited him. In the dim torchlight, Hermione could see Malfoy\'s normally silver eyes darken to mercury. She could feel the barely suppressed power in his lean frame. It caused the magic in her own veins to stir. Hermione closed her eyes and tried to fight it. She remembered his kisses from the previous nights. That didn\'t mean she would succumb to whatever Malfoy had planned. She\'d vowed to herself that Malfoy would get no pleasure from this forced encounter.

It seemed that he was too clever to fall for a ploy like that.

He stepped around her, close enough to feel, but not touching. It was so quiet in the Tower that she could hear him breathe.

\"You feel it, don\'t you?\"

She opened her eyes. \"Feel what, Malfoy?\"

The defiant way she spoke his name made him grin slightly. \"Why, my dear little Witch, the magic that flows in your veins. You feel it coursing, pounding in golden shimmers - like someone set your heart on fire.\"

\"I don\'t feel anything.\" Which was a complete lie. His whispered words told the truth of what she was feeling.

\"Liar.\" Draco bent and nipped her earlobe lightly. Hermione flinched at the contact.

He bit her again, harder. She felt a completely new sensation shoot through her body.

\"Aha.\" Malfoy smiled in satisfaction. \"Tell me again that you don\'t feel it.\"

Hermione said nothing. Draco smiled and carried on.

\"Does it feel like when you conjured those butterflies? When you stepped through the door, invisible under your own power, not having to rely on some silly cloak?\"

\"Yes.\"

\"Good.\" Malfoy practically purred that single syllable.

He stepped behind Hermione and swept the curtain of curls aside. She tilted her head instinctively. Draco gave a low hum of approval and drew his tongue across the back of her neck.

\"Ooh...\" Hermione shivered. (Who knew that part was so sensitive?) She thought.

\"Very good, my dear.\" For the first time, he touched her, placing his hands on her shoulders. Hermione jumped at their weight.

\"Shhh. Be still,\" Malfoy instructed. He ran his hands down her flannel covered arms, letting the fabric move up and down her skin. Hermione\'s senses began to run amok.

\"Malfoy...\" She felt awkward and untutored next to his obvious skills. But as he pressed a kiss on the side of her neck, all thoughts of that flew out of her head.

He flicked his tongue on the delicate skin there and Hermione was gone. Heat rushed over her. It was a feeling she\'d seldom felt before; never with Harry, sometimes with Ron, sometimes not. She began to squirm slightly under his ministrations.

\"I said be still.\" Malfoy\'s voice held a hint of steel. She quieted.

Draco suddenly slid his hands down her back and around her waist. Hermione held her breath, waiting for the inevitable. However, Malfoy kept his hands where they were.

\"Look at me,\" he commanded.

She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. That\'s when he kissed her. He didn\'t start off softly and deepen the kiss slowly. He took her lips in a hard kiss that set every single nerve ending afire. Hermione ran a hand up to grasp his head, keeping them locked in the kiss. Malfoy stroked his tongue inside her open mouth. To her immense surprise, Hermione didn\'t want to gag. She sent her own tongue snaking out to fence with his. Malfoy drew her tongue into his mouth, making Hermione do the work. She responded with an enthusiasm that surprised the both of them.

(He tastes like cinnamon Altoids.) The heat of Malfoy\'s mouth intrigued her. It was such a contrast to the rest of him, which felt cool to her touch. She always imagined that Malfoy would be as icy as his demeanor. This was not so. As she continued to kiss him, she could feel the surface of his skin begin to warm.

(Maybe there\'s a function that could derived for that. How much does Malfoy warm up in proportion to how much he\'s kissed?), she thought. The idea made her grin. Draco felt the smile against his face.

\"What are you smiling about?\" He asked sourly.

\"Nothing.\" She smiled more and turned her head away from him.

He spun her around to face him. Draco\'s hands went swiftly down the row of buttons on her shirt and once it was undone, he left her naked to the waist.

She looked good. She looked very good.

Hermione was somewhat outdone by this turn of events. She\'d expected him to divest her of her clothing sooner or later, but he\'d surprised her by making it later than sooner. He didn\'t touch her right away either, just stood there looking his fill. It began to make her nervous and fidgety.

\"Why don\'t you take a photograph, it\'ll last longer,\" Hermione snapped at him.

\"Hmm, maybe later.\"

Draco took in the expanse of slightly tanned skin (a holdover from the summer hols), her breasts were round with deep coral upturned nipples. In short, they were very nice indeed. Nicer than Blaise\'s, in his opinion, and that bird had great tits. Draco grinned at that thought. The Queen B wouldn\'t be happy to hear that a mere Muggle outshone her in that department. Malfoy made a mental note to share that bit of news with Blaise the next time he was with her.

Draco undid the sash of his black satin robe (would he wear anything else?) and tossed it to a nearby table. Hermione goggled at Malfoy\'s body. It didn\'t look like much when wrapped in uniform and robes, but it was bloody spectacular naked.

Malfoy wasn\'t brawny. He was lean, with the kind of sinewy musculature that Hermione appreciated. He\'d outgrown that look of fine boned delicacy that plagued him in his younger days. Only the top half was showing, like her, he wore pajama bottoms - black satin ones. They looked very well against his pale skin.

\"Granger, take a photograph, it\'ll last longer.\" Malfoy shot Hermione\'s words back at her with supreme amusement. Hermione had the good grace to blush. Malfoy found that charming.

He reached for her and kissed her once more. This time the kiss was soft and coaxing. He drew on her lips as if seeking a specific response from her. Hermione stood still in his arms, just feeling his mouth on hers. His kiss wasn\'t the demanding one of moments past. And he didn\'t kiss like anyone else she knew. It was different and the difference was stunning.

She wrapped her arms around him and gave up the fight.

Malfoy\'s hands sank into her hair. Hermione pulled him tightly to her. She revelled in the feel of his chest against hers. Everytime he shifted, his skin brushed her nipples. The contact sent little flickers of electricity through her.

She\'d never gone this far with any of her boyfriends before. It was entirely new. The unfamiliarity was an unexpected thrill that she enjoyed. Suddenly Hermione\'s mouth was released.

Draco began kissing his way down her throat. He stopped along the way to bite and nibble as if he would eat her like a dessert. Draco sucked particularly hard at a spot, lifting his head away to examine the skin there. He chuckled darkly.

\"Well, that\'ll leave a mark.\"

Just as Hermione meant to protest, Draco flicked his thumb across a nipple and all coherent thought fled. Malfoy took advantage of the moment and pulled Hermione to an old battered sofa which stood against one wall of the tower. Professor Sinistra kept it there to catch naps before nights of some new heavenly occurence or convergence that she needed to record.

This, obviously, made the Astronomy Tower an ideal place for trysting.

Malfoy sat on the couch and stood Hermione in front of him. He pulled down her pajama bottoms. The somewhat chill air of the stone tower sobered Hermione a bit. But Malfoy knew his game. He drew her, facing him, onto his lap. The position spread her, kneeling wide, over his satin covered thighs. Draco slid her toward him slowly. Her sensitive nether lips rubbed over the slippery textile and feeling made her eyes go wide. Just as her brain made ready to process that, Malfoy slipped his lips over the tip of one breast and pulled ever so slightly.

Her reaction was immediate.

Hermione pulled his head closer, her hands making fists in Malfoy\'s thick blond hair. Malfoy obliged her unspoken wish. He drew hard and fast on her nipple, making her breath come in small gasps. Draco nibbled on the small bit of flesh and Hermione squirmed. He transferred his attentions to the other breast whilst his hands stroked the skin of her back.

Malfoy could feel the muscles beneath his hands. He liked the fact that Granger wasn\'t soft like Pansy or bony like Blaise. Hermione was more athletically built than either. She was sleek and toned, like a cat. He moved a hand over her hip and slipped a finger inside of her. She was nearly there. His finger stroked the wet folds with a knowing touch. Casually he made his way over her pussy to her clit. Instinct told him that she liked a light touch.

He was right.

The barest of contact and Hermione sucked in her breath and tensed. It was like flipping a light switch on. She tried to close her legs but she was completely open to his touch. Draco seemed to revel in it. He began tracing small patterns over her flesh. Malfoy had a suddenly perverse idea.

\"Granger.\"

\"Hmm?\" It was all she could get out.

\"See if you can tell me what I\'m writing.\"

\"What?\" She asked.

Draco smiled and began writing Arithmantic formulas with his finger inside of her. A four first. A long vertical stroke, a short diagonal and a short horizontal. The next one was five - short horizontal, short vertical and a large circle to finish. He went on and on and by the time he reached the solution, which carried an infinity sign, Hermione was close to tears.

\"Tell me, what did I write?\"

\"I-I haven\'t the faintest...\" Hermione\'s voice came out in quivers.

\"Well...maybe next time you can tell me.\" Malfoy stroked one finger into her channel. She clenched tightly around his finger. He nearly came right then. It was time to end the game.

He lay her on the worn brown tweed. After shucking off his pajama bottoms he settled himself between Hermione\'s parted thighs. Malfoy fitted her hips to his and thrust forward.

Imagine his surprise when he broke through the small barrier and heard her pained gasp.

Draco looked down at Hermione. She held herself stiffly, eyes closed.

\"Granger...look at me.\" She opened her eyes. They were slightly moist. \"Why the hell didn\'t you tell me?\"

She looked him square in the eyes. \"Because it wouldn\'t have made one bit of difference, would it?\"

He thought briefly. \"No.\" And he began to move.

It took Hermione a while to adjust to the sensation of having a man inside of her. She felt staked, pinned to the rough sofa beneath her. There certainly seemed to be nothing about the actual act that was worth all the fuss. Malfoy put a hand on one side of her head, bracing himself. The other smoothed itself over her body. That went a long way to reawakening the feelings she had before he penetrated her. He tweaked her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

\"Ooh...\" She let out a long shuddering breath.

Draco reached down and flicked his thumb over the small bundle of nerves between her thighs. Hermione had the same reaction as before, she stiffened and gasped. Her muscles clenched around his erection and he almost lost it.

Malfoy continued to touch her there while he moved in and out of her in a steady rhythm. When she wrapped her arms and legs around him, he knew she was ready. He took the hand that was so recently enjoying making her squirm and placed it on the small of her back. Malfoy then altered his strokes. He made them short, fast, long, hard, soft, shallow, deep; not letting her get accustomed to any one pace. She began making small noises in the back of her throat. He smiled devilishly. That was just what he wanted. He\'d waited a long time for this: he wanted to hear her beg.

Malfoy kept up his game until Hermione was at her breaking point. She could feel something - something that was just out of reach. She pushed her hips at him futilely, trying to get him to give her that something.

\"Tell me.\"

\"Tell you what,\" she gasped.

\"Tell me you want it.\"

\"I want it. Malfoy...\"

\"Say my name. Tell me you want it!\"

\"Malfoy...Draco...*please!*\" She ended on a high note, straining to get there.

\"That\'s what I wanted to hear,\" he ground out. Draco finally let himself off of his leash and pumped her with smooth long strokes.

Hermione could feel the muscles in his back moving and working under his sweat slick skin. It turned her on even more. She dug her nails into his shoulders as she felt the orgasm break over her. She could feel it in her toes first. It shimmered from her feet and up into her thighs and on through her body to the top of her head. She shivered from it and fell still, breathing hard.

Malfoy felt the quivers rolling through her and that was the end for him. He stopped above her and orgasmed, pouring himself into her. He looked at her face in her ecstasy. She had a look of wide eyed surprise before falling quiet. He gave a small grunt and collapsed on top of her, both breathing as if they\'d run a marathon.