Adventurous Hearts Part III: Merlin's Tomb

Chapter 5: At the Manor









Hermione was curled against Lucius as they rode home. She tried to ignore the fact that they were flying, asking Lucius to keep the blinds shut so she could not see the stars twinkling outside the windows as they sped through the air. He merely smiled, finding her fear of flying worked to his advantage as it kept her close to him.







He had not really intended for them to have crazed, almost angry sex in the coach. But all reasonable thought flew from his mind the moment she whispered her love for him. He still couldn’t believe it, she loved him. Someone loved him, not for his money, not for his power or what he could do for them, just him.







It dawned on him as they were landing that he hadn’t told her of his feelings for her. The coach halted on the curved pavement in front of the house and the door was opened quickly by Ronan.





“Welcomes home, Master.” He said, keeping his voice soft when he saw Hermione curled up asleep beside his master. Ronan couldn’t help but smile, he hoped that the house of Malfoy would have a new mistress soon and perhaps the halls would reverberate with the sounds of laughter and maybe the pitter patter of little Malfoy feet.







“Thank you, Ronan.” Lucius said softly as he stepped from the coach and reached inside for the sleeping witch. “Please make sure that my bed is turned down.”







“Yes, Master.” Ronan said as he popped out of sight to do his master’s bidding. Lucius drew Hermione out into the cold night air, she shivered and he pulled her cloak tighter around her.







“The wind is blowing up my skirt and you have my knickers.” She grumbled as she burrowed into him seeking warmth.







“I’ll give them back.” He said. “I want to see you in them; I missed out on that earlier.”

He led her into the house, immediately she sighed as the warmth of his home engulfed her.







“That was your own fault. If you hadn’t been out on a date when I came to see you we would have talked, made slow, sweet love in your bed instead of shagging like teenagers in your carriage.” She said chuckling.







“Is that what you think?” He asked, removing his cloak and gloves, his cane leaning against the table. “You are mistaken I’m afraid. You see that dress and your little confession pretty much assured that I was going to have at you instantly, conversation and location be damned.”









“You like the dress that much do you?” She asked, turning around and letting him slide her cloak from her shoulders.







“You knew that I would, it is why you wore it.” He said. “But I find you irresistible no matter what you wear.” He brushed his fingertips over her shoulder and placed a soft kiss on the creamy skin. “Come, let’s have a drink before we go to bed.”







“To talk?” She asked, a little smile tugging at her lips.









“Well, I suppose we will just see what happens when we get there. Things come up.” He said, taking her hand and pulling her down the hall towards his study.







“Yes, things do tend to come up often.” She snickered. “Like a fifteen year old boy.” He glanced back over his shoulder with a suggestive lift of his brow and a grin as he opened the study door and pulled her in behind him.







“Something is coming up now, want to discuss it?” He asked, pulling her hand forward and pressing it into his crotch. Hermione couldn’t help but smile at his playfulness. They both jumped at the sound of a feminine scream echoing around the room. They looked around to find a very naked Draco lying on the rug, his hands folded behind his head and a smug smile on his handsome face as he stared up at his father and Hermione.







They made a rather comical picture to be honest, Hermione standing in the doorway, her hand cupped around Lucius’s crotch while Draco laid in all his naked glory on the floor, an indefinable lump beside him covered in his black woolen cloak.







“I trust that the coach won’t have to be re-sprung after the two of you finished with it.” Draco smirked. “Afraid someone will steal it from you, Granger?” He stared pointedly at her hand curled around his father’s bulge. Hermione glanced down and removed her hand, walking further into the room so that she was standing beside Draco, looking down at him with an assessing stare.







“Impressive.” She said. “You are clearly your father’s son.”







“Don’t even think about it, Granger. I know all about your twisted little perversions and I am not interested.” Draco laughed, grabbing a throw pillow and covering his crotch.







“Oh? And how do you know about such things?” She asked, amused that she was having a conversation with a naked Draco.







“You have a loose tongue when you drink.” He winked and made her laugh out loud.









“Don’t look so interested, love.” Lucius said, stepping up behind her to peer over her shoulder at his offspring. “What are you doing in my study nude, Draco?”







“Resting?” He quipped with a soft chuckle.







“I will assume that the lump beside you is another person, could you perhaps ask him or her to come out?” Lucius had a feeling he knew just who was hiding beneath the woolen cloak. His suspicions were confirmed when Draco tugged the material back and revealed the blushing face of Amelia Diamatti, her hair tangled about her face. “Ah, Miss Diamatti, how…interesting…to see you again.”







“Hello, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger.” She squeaked, humiliated to have been caught in flagrante with Draco. She had tried to resist him, but once he turned on the charm it was a lost cause. A drink had turned into a kiss, a kiss into a full on snogging session and the snogging into a wild, unrestrained shag in the priceless aubusson rug before the fire.







She had thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it, though such behavior was foreign to her, it felt good to let loose and feel free for a change, rather than a pawn used to advance the stature of another. She wasn’t a fool, she knew that it was nothing more than a tryst for Draco, his wealthy playboy reputation was known far and wide, but she could not regret spending the last hour in his arms.









“Well, I suppose we could just have that drink in your room, Lucius.” Hermione said, smiling up at him. He slid his hand around her waist and smiled back at her.







“Ah yes, we do have a conversation to finish.” He drawled.







“Good gods, am I going to be subjected to this kind of thing often?” Draco asked, watching them with a mixture of amusement and disgust on his face.







“If things go well.” Hermione said, still smiling.





“The way the coach was rocking I would say things were going very well.” Draco laughed.







“Have a good evening, Draco. Make sure the elves clean the rug and burn that pillow you are holding.” Lucius said, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Hermione. “We aren’t going to be available for a few days; I trust you can handle things.”







Draco didn’t have a chance to say anything, his apparently randy sire popped out of site with his lady love before he could utter a single syllable. He shook his head, amazed at the way life was turning out. His father was in love with a mudblood, albeit she was a brilliant one. He should be angry about it, disturbed perhaps, but he wasn’t. He was just so damned thrilled to see his father smiling and who knew; maybe he would get a little brother out of it, like he always wanted.









“Your father is so in love with her.” Draco looked over to see Amelia staring at the empty place his father and Hermione had just vacated. She was a pretty young woman, though she needed to build her self confidence. He could tell she wasn’t so sure of herself in the beginning, but once he got her going she turned into quite the little firecracker.







“Yes, he is.” Draco said, rolling over and onto the witch lying beside him. “But I’m not interested in talking about him right now. Right now, I am interested in you.”







Amelia couldn’t fight her smile as she let the blond take her once more to the heights of passion.









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“Well now, that was interesting.” Lucius said as they appeared in his bedchamber. He noted that his bed was turned down for the night and a bottle of wine with two glasses was sitting on the nightstand.







“I don’t think your date was too disappointed at being left with your son.” Hermione said as she sat on the side of his bed.







“No, she looked rather…happy…didn’t she?” He said as he stripped down to his shirt and trousers before joining her on the side of the bed.







“We really do need to talk, Lucius.” She said softly. He smiled and nodded his head, sliding his hand beneath her thighs and pulling them up to drape over his lap.







“So talk.” He said as he began to unfasten the little silver buckles on her shoes.







“Why did you walk away from me without an explanation?” She asked as he slid her shoes off and dropped them to the floor. He sighed and began to massage her feet, soothing the red marks over the top from the straps.







“The morning we left I felt you leave the bed. I assumed you had gotten up to fix breakfast, that we would be getting an early start and leaving the island as soon as possible. So I dressed and went looking for you. I heard voices in the library, but I couldn’t make out what you were saying.” He said, closing his eyes and recalling the scene. “I stood out there against the rail and I saw you. You were curled up in his lap and he was holding you, smiling at you. Do you know that in all the years I have known him I have never seen him smile except when he is with you?”







“He doesn’t smile for anyone else.” She said softly. “It took a long time before he got to this point with me.”







“Well I could see how much he loves you every time he looks at you, and the two of you are so easy together…then I saw you kiss him and I realized that I was trying to compete with a relationship of so many years, such closeness, and so much love. What did I have to offer you in place of that?” He shook his head and ran his fingertips over her ankle and the tops of her feet.







“You? I wanted you, I woke up that morning and I was curled against you; I always seemed to be curled against you. I realized that it was you, as much as I fought it, I wanted you and I went to Severus.” She said quietly. “He already knew. I didn’t realize the depth of his feelings and it broke my heart to hear him tell me how he felt. But he didn’t try to sway me; he simply wanted me to be happy. When I kissed him, we were saying goodbye to that part of our friendship.”







“I thought I was doing the right thing, the noble thing.”







“Oh, Lucius.” She sighed, reaching out to push his hair back so she could see him. “I thought you could tell, that you would see how I felt when I tried to stop Harry from arresting you, when I came to court to defend you. But you just acted so cold and walked away, you hurt me so deeply.”







“I thought you were with Severus, I just assumed you went home with him after and resumed your relationship.” He said leaning his head into her touch.







“I did go home with him, where I laid in his bed for a week in that horrid little house that he refuses to move out of though he can afford better, and I wept until he dragged me out of bed and tossed my blubbering arse into that horrible shower of his.” She said chuckling. “He took care of me; force fed me, dressed me and told me to snap out of it. I threw myself into work, first by trying to lift the curse on the island, then by lobbying for the rights to open Merlin’s Tomb.”







“Why didn’t you try to reach me? Owl, howler, floo? Hell you could have come here like you did earlier tonight and told me everything!” He said, somewhat angry over the time they had lost. “I would have listened, gladly.”





“I have my pride, Lucius. You walked away from me, I wasn’t about to throw myself at a man who didn’t want me.” She said.







“I wanted you. Not a day went by that I didn’t think of you, miss you.” He whispered. “We were both fools it seems.”







“The holidays were hard for me. I didn’t have the Weasleys or the Potters like I normally do; it was just Sev and me.” She said. “We had a nice Christmas, but I missed you. Then Draco found me in the pub and carried me home. He’s actually a pretty decent guy…now.” She said.







“I don’t think it was my doing how he turned out, but thank you, I am very proud of my son.” He smiled.







“Well, I asked Severus what a Slytherin would do. He told me to get off my arse, get cleaned up and go get what I wanted, whatever it took And I did, now here we are.” She said.





“Now here we are.” He repeated softly. “I’m glad you came…as awkward as it was. I did not like seeing you on a date with my son. I nearly choked the smug little runt when he walked in with you on his arm.”







“I think he did it on purpose.” She smiled.







“I know he did.” Lucius said, grasping her around the waist and pulling her fully into his lap. “I can’t believe it. You’re really mine?” She twined her arms around his neck and kissed the bridge of his nose.





“If you want me to be, then I am most definitely yours.”







“Severus?”







“Let’s get one thing straight from the beginning. Severus is my best friend, he is my family and I will not give him up for you. I promise you that he and I no longer have an intimate relationship nor will we so long as I am committed to you. If jealousy is going to be an issue…”







“No.” Lucius shook his head. “I would never ask you to give him up; I know how important he is to you. I can’t promise that I won’t be envious of the closeness you share, but if you say that you are mine alone then I trust your word.”







“Good…Lucius?” She brushed her lips over his lightly. “What now?”







“Now you come take a look at the shower I had installed and I get a good look at those teeny little knickers you are now wearing.” He said, smirking. She felt the brush of magic as her underpants were replaced, “Then I take you to bed and I make love to you properly.”







“Mmmmm…sounds perfect.” She purred as he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bathroom.







“I spent the night in a muggle hotel in London a month ago and they had the most amazing shower.” He said as he set her on her feet. “I came home and had it replicated in my bathroom.” He pointed his wand at the oversized, glass enclosed cubicle in the corner. Shower heads that were hidden within the stone tiles began to spray hot, scented water, filling the stall quickly with mist and steam.









“Oh…now that is brilliant.” Hermione said with a smile. “You should really convince Severus to get a better shower. Hell convince him to get a better house, he doesn’t listen to me.”





She jumped when she felt him behind her, quickly jerking the zipper on her dress down. She glanced back over her shoulder, smiling slightly, her brows lifted.







“I thought the ride in the coach would have cooled your ardor a little.” She said, shivering when he ran his fingertips over her spine.







“When it comes to you I am in a constant state of arousal. It will no doubt take me weeks, months, years, perhaps decades to get enough of you to take the edge off.” He said, his eyes going molten silver. “Now, drop the dress and let me get a look at that little bit of an excuse you call underwear.”







“Such a sweet talker.” Hermione said, letting the dress slide slowly down her arms and off of her body to pool at her feet on the floor. She pulled her hair forward over one shoulder as Lucius let his eyes travel down the line of her back. The tiniest scrap of emerald lace crossed over her hips and cupped the cheeks of her round bottom deliciously. Right at the top of the shadowed cleft sat a tiny satin bow that he suddenly longed to take between his teeth.









“Turn around.” He said hoarsely. Hermione complied, turning slowly in front of him, her hip pressing into his groin as she did. He was already hard as stone. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he admired the way the green lace hugged her breasts, lifting and plumping them, creating an enticing furrow of cleavage that he wanted to dive into with his fingers, lips and tongue. The image of sliding his cock through that shadowy cleft came unbidden and he moaned.







She smiled and reached behind her to unfasten the hooks, hunching her shoulders forward and letting the brassiere slide off, tossing it to the floor without a second thought. Her breasts were free, soft and inviting as the nipples puckered and strained towards him.







“Aren’t you going to get naked too?” She asked, her hands coming up to loosen the buttons on his shirt. “You have certainly regained all the weight you lost while in Azkaban.” She said as she slid her hand inside to smooth over his chest, ruffling the smattering of golden curls.







“I found comfort in pudding.” He said, hissing when her fingernail scratched over his nipple. She raked them down over the tight muscles of his abdomen.







“You haven’t been neglecting your workouts obviously.” She said as she began to loosen his belt and trousers.







“With all the pudding I was eating I had no choice, wouldn’t do for me to get all portly then you wouldn’t have come back for me.” He said.







“Oh I don’t know…I suppose it would depend on just how portly you actually got.” She teased. She knew that Lucius was far too vain to ever let himself go physically. He knew he was bloody gorgeous and he took great pride in it. “Be a good wizard and drop trou.” She purred as she stepped away from him.







She turned her back to him and came to a halt just outside the shower stall, then with slow, deliberate movements she tucked her fingers into the waistband of her knickers and slid them slowly down over her hips, bending over to push them down her thighs and calves before stepping out of them and shooting them at him like she was flicking an elastic band.







She laughed when they hit him in the center of his chest, his hand snatching them before they could fall to the ground.







“Oh you are certainly in a lot of trouble madam.” He drawled as he twirled the little bit of lace and ribbon around his finger. He tossed them onto the vanity and toed his shoes off as he watched her open the door and step into the steamy cubicle with a cheeky little grin.







He disposed of his trousers and socks quickly, shrugging out of his shirt on the way to the shower. He stepped into the thick, scented heat of the stall and immediately reached for her. She laughed but didn’t try to evade him as he pulled her into his arms.







“It feels so good to be back in your arms, Lucius.” She sighed as she rested her cheek against the center of his chest.







“And it feels wonderful to have you back in them, I missed you.” His hands were sliding easily over the slick skin of her back. She tilted her face up and he covered her lips with his, kissing her softly, barely brushing his lips back and forth over hers. It felt so good, so right just holding her against him beneath the shower spray, kissing her as the water cascaded over them.







The playfulness was set aside momentarily as the two of them stood, bodies pressed together, sharing in the tenderness of their reunion, the beginning of something special. Lucius smiled when he thought about them together. Theirs would probably go down in history as one of the strangest romances ever to unfold. An epic tale of two people so different who started out with nothing but hate between them and found love, perhaps it would be a love to last a lifetime, they had nothing but time on their side now.







“Hermione...” Lucius slid his hand up her back to cup her neck, leaning back so that he could look down at her. “I love you.” He said softly. “I didn’t say it before…I was just so flabbergasted to hear someone say those words to me, to hear you say them that I just…forgot.”





Her eyes filled and she pushed his wet hair back off his face so that she could see him clearly. He was sincere. She had once been told never to let Lucius Malfoy charm her, that he was a consummate performer, deception was in his very DNA. Maybe the man he once was, but not this Lucius, not her wizard.







“I love you too.” She whispered, pulling his head down for another soul stealing kiss.





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OK! As is my habit you have the first 5 chapters. The story is complete so you will get a chapter every other day or so until you have it all!!!!! Thanks for reading, hope you have enjoyed it so far.