In His Kiss

CHAPTER 4: Light Reading





Hermione was reading, sitting alone beneath a tree while the students roamed the grounds. It was a Saturday, and there were no classes so students and teachers alike were permitted their free time. Severus was standing off to the side watching her as her eyes darted across the pages of the paperback novel. She was chewing her lower lip and her fingers were sliding along the v-neckline of her sweater. He watched that slow, deliberate stroking motion intently. He noted that her cheeks were flushed as she did so and he became curious about what she was reading.





He approached her slowly, coming to stand beside her unnoticed. From his vantage point he could see the plump swells of her breasts through the v-necked garment.





“What are you reading?” He asked. Hermione jumped and looked up at him, tucking the novel beneath her thigh.





“Oh, hello Severus. Um….I’m reading a…..fiction….novel.” She stammered as her face heated. He sat down beside her and reached for the novel.





“Let me see, I’m curious about a book that can cause a person to become so engrossed.” She leaned further away from him, sliding the book out of his reach. He narrowed his eyes, watching her face as she kept the book away from him. Why didn’t she want him to see it?





“Accio book.” The book was yanked from her grasp and flew quickly to Severus.





“Oh! Severus, really it’s just a stupid book, nothing you would be interested in!” She groaned when he opened the book to the page she had been reading and settled in.







I have never wanted a woman the way that I want you.” The dark wizard whispered against her throat, his lips and teeth marking the tender flesh.





“Please, take me, I’m yours.” She gasped as he curled his fingers into the neck of her gown and ripped, tearing the thin garment from her body and leaving her bare for his ravishment. He cupped her breasts, worrying the tiny nipples with his fingers before lowering his mouth and sucking hard upon the sweet nubs. She was moaning, arching beneath his lips, her hands stroking through his long dark hair and he nursed upon her tender breasts.





He used his magic to remove his own clothing as he lowered her to the sheets on his bed. He pushed her thighs apart and settled between them, guiding the large, turgid length of his arousal into the haven that waited, wet, hot and snug around him….











“Um….do you read this sort of thing often?” Severus asked, turning his embarrassed and shocked gaze back to her.





“Yes.” She said quietly. “I read a lot of romance novels, I’m not proud of it, it’s just for fun.” He handed the book back to her and looked straight ahead, his arms resting on his bent knees.





“Well, I suppose I deserved it, you did try to keep me from reading it. Interesting choice of literature though, can’t say I have ever read anything quite like it.” He said, smirking slightly. He had been curious about what she was reading, but he hadn’t expected it to be quite so graphic.





“I told you it wasn’t anything you would be interested in.” She said, tucking the book into her bag.





“I wouldn’t go so far as to say I wasn’t interested in the subject.” He muttered. Hermione snapped her head back to see him resting his head on his crossed arms and staring at her.





She wasn’t sure about the odd light in his eyes, she had never seen it before and wasn’t certain quite what to make of the way he was looking at her.





“Severus, can I ask you something?” She scooted closer, so they were hip to hip and could talk without being overheard.





“I can’t recall a moment in the past when you have ever feared to question me, sometimes at great length.” He said, chuckling softly.





“This…whatever you want to call this…relationship….we are forming here, is it merely a friendship….or the potential for something else.” She asked nervously.





“I don’t have an answer to that. It’s complicated Hermione. We work together, and you were my student. I am way too old for you, but I will not deny that when I am around you, there is something I can’t quite describe that happens inside me.” He said.





“Me too.” She said softly. “I get all…tingly, low in my belly when you are near.”





“Maybe it’s a reaction to the book.” He was focused on her lips as she spoke, mesmerized by the soft, gently curving contours of her mouth.





“No, it’s a reaction to you. Do you want to kiss me?” She asked.





“I shouldn’t.” Severus replied, even though he was already leaning closer to her.





“Yes, you should. Please?” She whispered just before his lips touched hers. It was soft and tentative, their lips just brushing against the others. She parted her lips slightly and Severus deepened the contact, nibbling her lower lip and sliding his tongue along the seam. He pulled back slowly, not really wanting to break the contact, but they weren’t alone, students and other staff roamed the grounds and he did not want gossip about Hermione bandied about.





“Oh my.” She said softly, her amber eyes blinking up at him.





“Don’t look at me that way.” His voice was low, slightly raspy as he fought the desire rising inside him.





“What way?”





“Like you want more.” He said, fisting and un-fisting his hand and his side.





“I do.” She whispered.





“Do you have rounds tonight?” He asked, glancing up at some students across the way watching them curiously.





“No, I’m not on the rotation tonight.” She said, following the line of his gaze and waving at the gaggle of young girls.





“Do you want to join me in Hogsmeade, at the Warlock Inn, for dinner?” He asked. She smiled up at him.





“Will you kiss me again?” She asked.





“Without a doubt.” He almost smiled at her then.





“I’ll meet you at the gate at seven.” She said, gathering her bag and her robes. With one last smile she got up and went back into the castle.





Severus sat beneath the tree and wondered what he was getting in to. When was the last time he had gone on a date? Had things changed on that front dramatically? He sighed and watched her walk through the castle doors. He couldn’t believe he had just kissed her where any and all could see. Thankfully no one had, at least not that he had noticed. He smiled, or at least made the attempt; he would have to work on that, he couldn’t wait to kiss her again.