Leda

Leda, Chapter 7 - The Second Revelation

Leda would later reflect that it was good luck Sisyphus was a cat and had nine lives. She had little doubt he lost one of those lives from the shock of the sudden drop he experienced the moment Malfoy invited her into his bed.

Leda was moving before Sisyphus even hit the floor. But she stopped right at the edge of the bed when Malfoy raised a warning hand.

“Leda, before I allow you in,” he said sternly, “you must promise to behave yourself.”

Shit! They were just going to sleep together. Nothing else. But, she thought, it would be worth the frustration just to lay next to that exquisite naked body of his.

“I will promise whatever you want me to promise,” she pledged eagerly, laying her hands on the silky sheets. “I promise I’ll behave. I promise I’ll do all your errands. I promise my first born child. I don’t care.”

“Those will do nicely,” he replied, smiling smugly at her willingness. “But don’t be surprised if I hold you to them.”

“Please, hold me to something,” she teased.

Malfoy stared at her a moment before flashing his eyes toward a bank of candles. The room was suddenly doused in darkness but for the shimmering moonlight streaking through the lancet windows. He moved back just slightly in the bed making room for Leda to join him.

Leda paused just briefly to drink in the scene before raising her knee to the high mattress and climbing in next to him.

“Someday,” she sighed as she slid under the luxurious covers, “I will write an epic poem about this moment. Or at least a very dirty limerick.”

“Leda, do you ever stop talking?” Malfoy asked with mild irritation.

“Well, you didn’t notice me talking when you were kissing me earlier, did you?” she prompted hopefully.

He was so beautiful with his long hair down again and resting on his side propped on an elbow to look down at her. So beautiful. And so close. And so naked. She could feel the heat from his body radiating out toward her. How on earth was she supposed to behave under these conditions?

She saw Malfoy pause as if he was pondering her question. Then he turned his eyes back to her.

“Excellent point.”

Leda shivered as Malfoy leaned over and gathered her in his arms. He rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him as his mouth found hers. Leda, pleasantly tangled up in the sheets, nearly groaned aloud as Malfoy wrapped his powerful arms around her as they kissed. It seemed to Leda like they kissed for hours. After she relaxed into the slow, warm cadence of his mouth, his tongue, she allowed herself the liberty of running her hands over him. She turned her head to let him kiss her neck and ear as she slid her hands over his arms, his chest, and even through his hair. She would have ventured further along his body but for the stern warning he had given her. As much as she wanted to touch every part of him, she was not so foolish as to tempt fate twice in one day.

Leda found herself pressing her hip rhythmically into him as her desire for him grew even greater. But before she could reach her climax, Malfoy kissed her lips one last time before drawing away from her to lay on his stomach.

Panting softly, Leda stared at his back in the dark until she felt the pressure in her ease slightly.

“So we’re sleeping now, are we?” she asked, still breathless from the kiss.

“Yes, we are.” She heard the insistence in his voice.

“Hmm. . .” she said as she forced herself to accept his proclamation. “You’re an evil wizard, aren’t you?”

“Leda. . .”

Leda draped herself over his back and kissed his curving shoulder blade before resting her cheek against his skin.

“Is this behaving?” she asked as she settled against him.

“It will do,” he sighed. She smiled at his tone. She knew he enjoyed how openly she adored him. He may be a wizard but he was still a man after all.

Leda turned her head again and slowly kissed the center of his back between his shoulders as her hand wandered of its own accord down his body.

“Leda,” came the warning again.

She snatched her hand back and turned her face quickly to the side again.

“I’m behaving,” she protested weakly.

Leda closed her eyes and tried to will herself to sleep. After a few fruitless minutes she calmed herself by concentrating on the slow, steady rhythm of Malfoy’s breathing, the slight rising and falling of his back, until her breaths matched his. The last of the tension and frustration slipped from her body until she finally slept.

That night she dreamt of voices in dark forests.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Leda expected that she would wake up alone. She almost expected that she would wake up in her own bed. But her waking was accompanied by a thrill of pleasure when she realized she was still in Malfoy’s bed and he was still in it with her.

“Good morning, Leda.”

Leda blinked a bit and yawned voluptuously before crawling over to where Malfoy sat, propped up on a mountain of pillows reading his newspaper. She was amazed by how perfect he looked even after a night’s sleep. Ecstatic with delight at finding him still with her, she wriggled under his arm and snuggled against his warm, bare chest.

“Yes it is,” she agreed, planting a quick kiss on his neck as she wrapped her arms around him. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” he replied evenly. “Despite the presence of a rather restless companion.”

Leda felt his arms press closer to her as he turned the page on his paper.

“I only tossed and turned because I was hoping you would pin me to the mattress,” she explained with a teasing grin.

“You really are quite. . .American, aren’t you, Leda?” he asked turning disapproving eyes down at her.

“Not by choice,” she conceded.

“Well, who would be?”

Leda wallowed around on Malfoy trying to press as close to him as possible until his exasperated sigh informed her to settle down. She positioned her bottom between his legs and rested her back against his chest so she could study the photographs in the newspaper as he read.

“Do you not have to work today?” she asked as she slid her hands under the covers to caress his legs. She was particularly enamored of his legs today.

“I do not have to work any day, Leda,” he instructed her imperiously as he turned the page again. “Malfoys take great pride in serving the community.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re taking the day off to spend it with me in various and sundry forms of debauchery, right?”

Leda turned her face up to look at him with a wicked smile.

“No.”

“It was worth a shot,” she replied, only slightly deflated. “What’s for breakfast?”

At Leda’s question, an elegant breakfast tray appeared on the table beside the bed. Malfoy pulled his knee up to rest the open newspaper on it as he took a peach from a dish. Leda tilted her head back again and watched as Malfoy, still intently reading his paper, brought the peach to his lips and took a slow bite from its soft flesh.

“You are an evil wizard. I knew it,” Leda said and laughed as she saw a knowing smile play at the corners of his mouth. He knew exactly what he was doing to her. She grew warmer by the second and kicked the covers off of her in a desperate attempt to cool her burning skin before she really started misbehaving. The attempt only exacerbated the problem, however, as Leda saw as well as felt Malfoy’s long, muscular legs stretched out on either side of her body.

Leda closed her eyes and tried to think of something to distract herself.

“Oh, I forgot,” she said as something popped into her mind that was just unpleasant enough to calm her down for a moment. “That creep Ulysses wanted me to give you a message.”

“Yes?”

“He said ten thousand for the blood and one hundred thousand for the chance to take it himself. What does that mean?”

“It means Ulysses has a very poor imagination. Clearly, he has not done his homework.”

She hated when he was cryptic with her. And he was always being cryptic with her. But she was starting to get used to it and shrugged the comment off.

“I never did my homework either. In school, I mean. I was too busy not cleaning my room to do my homework.”

“You? Undisciplined? I am all astonishment.”

“No need for sarcasm there, Mister,” she teased. “And are you planning on sharing the wealth?” she asked glancing meaningfully at the peach still in his hand.

Leda meant for Malfoy to give her one of her own. But instead he brought the peach in his hand to her lips. Leda bit down slowly and dragged her tongue over the juicy skin hoping the sight would have something close to the same effect on him as it had on her. It apparently had some effect as Malfoy promptly folded up his newspaper and dropped it over the side of the bed. Leda leaned forward to watch it disappear before touching the ground.

“That really is a fabulous trick, I must say,” Leda smiled approvingly at him, still amazed by the wonders of this new world.

Malfoy bent his knees as he slid his feet up the sheets until his legs mirrored Leda’s. He took Leda’s hand in his and placed the peach in it as he bent his head to her ear.

“I know a better one.”

Malfoy took Leda’s knees in his hands and lifted them one at time over each of his legs. Leda gasped softly as she felt herself open up as Malfoy slowly spread his knees apart pulling her legs wide with his.

She was so glad that last night she had chosen to forgo underwear. Just in case.

“Bite,” he ordered and Leda obediently took another wet bite from the peach. Malfoy brought the tips of his fingers to the fruit. Leda shivered as he slipped his two wet fingers between her legs as he spread the cool juice over her.

“Again,” he ordered and repeated the move. Leda could barely swallow her bite lost as she was in the sensation of Malfoy’s fingertips sliding lightly over her and dipping gently into her. He repeated the process once more and by the time he had pulled Leda lengthwise across the bed, she thought she was likely only seconds from passing out.

Very good morning.

Leda quickly came back to her senses when Malfoy forced her knees up as he laid on his side between her legs. Leda draped one leg over his back and tried to relax as Malfoy opened her up with his fingers. She leaned up to rest on her elbows to watch as Malfoy’s blond head came down onto her. Falling back groaning onto the bed, Leda felt his tongue on her and inside her, languorously yet methodically tracing with his mouth the path made earlier by his fingers.

Leda cried out softly as a fluttering climax rippled from deep within her. She felt Malfoy pull away from her. But for the moment Leda lay speechless and spent. Her head fell to the side and she opened her heavy eyelids to see that she was still holding the peach in her hand. Rolling up slowly, she flashed a libidinous grin at Malfoy now resting again back against his pillows. Leda brought the peach to her lips and took another bite from it. She then brought it to Malfoy’s mouth. He caught her eyes in his piercing gaze before biting into the peach again. Leda smiled and threw the fruit over the side of the bed knowing it would disappear before touching the ground. She collapsed onto Malfoy’s chest kissing him deeply, drinking in the taste of her own body mingled with peach on his lips.

“Good breakfast,” she pronounced before laughing at herself and collapsing onto his chest. “But what happened to no taking the day off for debauchery? I think that definitely qualified as debauchery.”

“Oh, I still intend to go into work, Leda,”

“Can I come with you?” She smiled as he turned suspicious eyes on her. “I behaved last night, didn’t I?”

“Barely.”

“Have you looked in a mirror lately? I think I deserve a medal. Please?”

Leda composed her face into her most perfect imploring pout and resisted the urge to bat her eyelashes at him. That was reserved only for emergencies.

“Very well,” he assented. “But do not dally, Leda.”

Leda squealed at the prospect of spending the day with Malfoy and rolled off the bed onto her feet. She threw him another smile before scampering out of the room to the servants’ quarters. In half an hour she was bathed and dressed and ready to behave herself.

She found Malfoy impeccably dressed and impatiently waiting in his office for her.

“So,” she asked as she walked toward him, “what exactly is it that you do?”

*

What Malfoy exactly did, Leda never found out. They took his carriage to the Ministry of Magic and Leda was too distracted by her lascivious daydreams to listen fully to his explanation. And when they arrived at his opulent office at the Ministry, Leda pestered him so relentlessly to explain again that he kicked her out after five minutes with a dismissive wave of his hand and the terse instruction, “Go shopping.”

He told her to stay in Diagon Alley and to charge whatever she wanted to his name. His last command as she was leaving was simple.

“And Leda, try to be discreet.”

She assured him that her powers of discretion were exceeded only by her powers of subtlety before she kissed him thoroughly as he was clearly thoroughly annoyed before leaving him to exercise her powers of shopping.

Leda remembered the layout of Diagon Alley from her first trip with Hestia. But now she was unencumbered by her dour chaperone and could go wherever and shop wherever she liked. She wandered aimlessly up and down the streets for nearly an hour just absorbing all the sights and sounds. And, she confessed to herself, she was hoping to spot David Bowie again. As she strolled the expansive street, she tried to keep her face composed as she remembered her breakfast in bed this morning. Malfoy was such a contradiction to her. She knew he had a dark side and more mysteries than she could ever begin to unravel. And yet he was affectionate toward her in a way that seemed out of his cold character. Affectionate? she asked herself as she recalled with a burning face the sight of Malfoy between her legs. That was the understatement of the century. She decided that she must be part of a wizard mid-life crisis of his. She wasn’t sure how old he was but definitely old enough to be her father.

And definitely, Leda decided, Malfoy was old enough to enjoy an eighteen year old companion in his bed, even if I did toss and turn. He said I was restless last night, she remembered. I must have been dreaming again.

She stopped in the middle of the street and tried to recall her dream. She caught a wisp of it at the back of her mind--a calling voice and darkness. She knew this dream. Ever since her grandmother had died, the only family she had ever had, the dream had come to her often. Sometimes the voices were loud, almost screaming. Sometimes they were the barest hints of whispers. Always they were beckoning. But she could never fully make out what they were saying. It was like trying to read the books in Malfoy’s library-a word here and there but nothing substantial, nothing that made sense at all. Leda brushed the dream from her mind and decided to start spending Malfoy’s money. After all, she thought, he isn’t paying me for my work. Why not?

Leda discovered she didn’t even have to give the stores his name. An older woman in a posh dress robe shop gave her necklace with the serpent emblem a knowing glance before devoting her entire attention and several hours to helping Leda to a new wardrobe including, much to Leda’s delight, a vast array of risqué night attire. Just in case, she told herself again.

This is just like that scene in the movie Pretty Woman, Leda thought. Except instead of a hooker and a corporate raider, she corrected herself, it’s a virgin and wizard. This would make a much better movie. And Malfoy? So much prettier than Richard Gere. Or Julia Roberts for that matter.

The woman in the store assured her that everything would be delivered to “the Manor,” she said with a practiced discretion that even Leda envied, and should be waiting for her when she returned home.

Leda left in pursuit of food but was brought up short by the sight of her favorite kind of store-a bookstore. She thought that it was likely she couldn’t read the books here either. But it was worth a try. Plus, she had a question she wanted answered.

Leda wandered in and glanced around looking for a clerk to help her.

“Hello, Miss.” Leda turned and saw a wizened and harried man carrying an armload of books. “How are you today?”

“Oh just peachy,” she replied. “Can you help me?”

“I can try,” he said, sitting the pile of books on a chair.

She started to explain what she was looking for but realized she couldn’t quite remember the word.

“I think it may be a book on sylphs. Slyphs? Sly-phies?” she asked trying to recall what the word was on the book Sisyphus had shown her.

“Slyph.” Leda turned and saw a man with chin length black hair and a forbidding expression to match his forbidding black robes strolling toward her with curious eyes. “You were correct the first time.”

“Ah, Professor Snape,” the clerk said with a relieved smile. “Perhaps you could help this young lady. I’m not acquainted with the subject myself.”

“Of course,” Professor Snape replied as the clerk scampered off. Leda turned a grateful smile to him and saw his eyes flit to her necklace and back to her face. “Sylphs. That is a rather. . . esoteric topic for a young girl.”

“Well, I just read the word somewhere and I had never heard it before. What does it mean?” she asked, relieved that someone was helping her. Despite his austere appearance and grim tone, Leda liked this man. He seemed to be a curious mix of deep sadness and steely resolve. There was a split second when she imagined telling him her predicament-despite her lust she hadn’t forgotten she was Malfoy’s slave--although why she felt this instinctual sense of trust she couldn’t fathom.

“If you are truly interested in the topic, you should purchase a complete work on familiars,” he informed her.

“Familiars?” she asked and saw his eyebrows raise in shock. Apparently the word was common knowledge in the magical world. “Just treat me like I’m an idiot,” she told him in reply to his surprise at her ignorance. “This conversation will go much easier for the both of us.”

He smiled a little at her before continuing.

“A familiar is an attendant spirit, a creature that is attached to the witch or wizard who possesses it. Familiars usually have magical properties. Their bond to their witch or wizard is often unbreakable.”

“Oh, like the proverbial black cat?” She thought of little Sisyphus, although he was a sleek silver cat instead of black. She hoped he wasn’t too mad at her for dropping him.

“Yes. Familiars are almost always an animal or a creature in animal form.”

“Almost always?”

“There are a few exceptions. It was once fashionable for wizards to keep Muggles as familiars. Although, as they had no real powers, they were more exotic pets than true familiars.” Pets? Leda recalled her second evening with Malfoy, resting on his lap as Sisyphus rested on hers. So that’s what I am, she thought. An exotic pet. And I thought I was just arm candy.

“And the sylph?”

“Now that is a different story. A sylph is another exception. And it is the most powerful and therefore highly prized of familiars. And the rarest by far.”

“What kind of powers do they have?”

“Legendary ones. . .although conditional. Some legends tell that they have ways of bringing the dead back to life. Or even the undead. They are capable of some of the darkest sorts of magic.”

“What are the conditions? And what kind of form does a sylph come in?” Leda asked as she heard the sound of a door open behind her.

“Human. Humale fe--down this street and on your right. You should find it there.”

“Excuse me?” she asked, reeling from Professor Snape’s mid-sentence shift.

“Leda? I do hope you aren’t bothering anyone.” Leda turned and saw that Malfoy was now standing behind her. He was looking at her and Professor Snape with suspicious eyes.

“Oh, hello there. You snuck up on me again. Mr. Snape and I-”

“Professor Snape,” he corrected her.

“Oh sorry. Professor Snape and I were just chatting about-”

“I was merely giving her directions.” Why did he keep interrupting her? Leda hated being interrupted.

“Yes, to the nearest dungeon outfitter,” she said turning a smile up to Malfoy. “Down the street you said?” Leda flashed a wicked smirk back at Professor Snape.

“Severus.”

“Lucius.” Professor Snape nodded a curt greeting. Leda watched the interaction between the two men. They obviously knew each other as they were on a first name basis. Yet she felt her temperature drop from the chill in each other’s stare. Professor Snape’s eyes darted toward her and back to Malfoy’s.

“Your new . . .servant?” he asked.

“Yes,” Malfoy replied with a dark smile of his own. “Just breaking her in.”

“Good help is so hard to find, isn’t it?” Snape asked with a meaningful lift of his chin.

Leda realized that these two must have some serious history between them.

“Not if you know where to look. Leda? Shall we?” Lucius held out his arm for her to take. She smiled at Professor Snape as she slipped her hand into Malfoy’s arm.

“Sure,” she replied to Malfoy. “It was nice to meet you Professor Snape.”

“Severus,” Malfoy said by way of dismissal.

Leda saw Professor Snape’s eyes darken slightly as he looked at her one last time before smiling at Malfoy.

“Do give my regards to Narcissa.”

She saw something like a spark of venom in Malfoy’s eyes before amusement took its place.

“Of course.” Malfoy turned on his heel taking Leda with him.

Malfoy escorted her from the bookstore and to his carriage. She did really enjoy being his arm candy. She received more than her fair share of envious glances from women as they walked.

“What were you and Professor Snape discussing, Leda?” he asked her.

“He was just answering a question I had about familiars and stuff. So I’m your pet or something, am I?”

“Or something. You may ask me such questions in the future, Leda.”

“Well, I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Admirable sentiments. But why start now?”

“Are you coming home too?” she asked hopefully, as she had been entertaining several illicit possibilities for their return trip in his carriage.

“No, I have a meeting to attend.”

“Oh fine,” she replied deflated as he helped her into his carriage. “I’ll see you later.”

Malfoy gave her a little smile as he stepped away. Leda stopped the door as it was closing when she remembered something she wanted to ask him.

“By the way,” she asked before Malfoy could walk away. “Who’s Narcissa?”