In His Kiss

CHAPTER 7: Forgive Me?







It was mid afternoon before Hermione flued back into her rooms at Hogwarts. She stepped into her sitting room and removed her cloak, giving it a quick shake before she put it back into the closet by the door.





“Oh! Mistress thank goodness you’ve returned!” Hermione pulled open the entry door when she heard the lady in the portrait speak.





“What’s wrong? Did something happen while I was away?” She asked concerned.





“It’s him, that dark wizard of yours! He’s been here half a dozen times already and here he comes again!” Hermione looked down the corridor and sure enough, Severus was making his way quickly towards her door. He stopped in front of her and from beneath his robes withdrew a small bouquet of orchids tied with a black velvet ribbon.





“I’m sorry.” He said sharply, almost shouting it at her. Her brows arched in surprise when he thrust the small bundle of fragrant flowers into her hands. He obviously didn’t have a whole lot of experience with apologies.







“Why are you sorry?” She asked, the imp inside her was goading her to tease him.







“I upset you last night, and I did not mean to.” He cleared his throat and looked around for potential eavesdroppers. “I was not rejecting you, I was trying to be a gentleman and obviously I failed.” It was kind of funny. She should be the one apologizing to him for throwing a fit, not the other way around.







“Would you like to come inside for some tea? You can escort me to the hall for dinner in a bit.” She stepped back; her nose buried in the flowers as he passed her and entered her rooms. She closed the door and followed him into the sitting room where he stood in the middle of the room. “Sit down Severus.” She laughed as she called to the kitchens for tea.





She put her flowers into a small vase; by the time she was finished a house elf popped into the room and set the tea on her coffee table. When she noticed Severus she screeched and popped out of sight again before Hermione could even say thank you.





“What was that about?” Hermione asked as she sat on the sofa beside him and poured the tea.





“House elves do not like me.” He said, taking a drink and setting his cup back on the tray.





“Why not?” She asked.







“When I was a student, I used to practice the spells I created on them. They have very long memories, house elves.” He told her.





“No wonder! Poor things.” Hermione reclined against the back of the sofa and propped her feet onto the edge of the table.





“Those are the ugliest shoes I have ever seen.” Severus said, staring at her fur-trimmed suede boots in horror.





“Yeah, but they’re comfortable. Probably why they call them Uggs, because they are so ugly.” She said, holding up one foot to stare at her shoe.





“If you know they are ugly, why do you wear them?”





“Because they are comfortable.” She rolled her head over to look at him. “Did you come to see me just to talk about my ugly boots?”





“No, I came to ask your forgiveness for upsetting you so much last night; I just got sidetracked by the ugly boots.” She was smiling at him. “You must have been pretty upset to skip breakfast and lunch to avoid me, and then that blasted chit it the portrait wouldn’t let me speak to you.”





“I wasn’t avoiding you Severus, I never come to breakfast or lunch on Sundays. I go to the Weasley’s and see my friends.” She smiled. “Haven’t you ever noticed?”





“I normally don’t come to the hall before dinner; I take my meals in my rooms.” He said, flushing slightly. “I went today to apologize.”





“That’s sweet, but you don’t need to apologize, I overreacted. You sort of…got me worked up and left, I was frustrated.” She said, biting her lip.





“Stop that.” He leaned forward intending to soothe the spot she had been nibbling. Instead her hand cupped the back of his neck and pulled him to her for a kiss. The bold little witch knew what she wanted. He had one hand on the back of the sofa and the other resting on her thigh as he leaned over her awkwardly. He ignored the discomfort in his back and concentrated on kissing her back. Her mouth opened slightly and her tongue licked along the seam of his lips.



Severus opened his lips over hers, his tongue slipping inside to tangle and tease. Her hands were skimming up his chest, pushing his robes back and off. She shifted her body so she could lie back on the sofa cushions, her head resting on one of the little pillows that littered her furniture. He followed her down, coming to rest slightly on top of her as he continued to ravish her mouth with his lips and tongue.





Hermione wasn’t quite sure what had made her grab him like she did. She just couldn’t seem to stop staring at his mouth as he talked to her and she wasn’t going to be content until he kissed her. And Merlin could that man kiss. He seemed to know exactly how much pressure, tongue and suction that was required to get the maximum response from her. He could give lessons. She almost giggled when she imagined him in front of a classroom teaching young witches and wizards how to properly kiss.





Her fingers were tugging at the buttons on his jacket, opening the collar and sliding her hand inside to stroke the side of his neck and shoulder. The feel of her cool fingers on his heated flesh snapped him back into reality quickly. He pulled back and looked down at her, his breath coming in rough, ragged pants.





“You make me lose my head.” He whispered, moving back and away from her. Hermione lay there staring at him. He looked gorgeous sitting there slumped into the corner of her sofa with his hair mussed, his collar open and his eyes flashing.





“Apparently not enough. Are you going to stop every time things get going between us?”





“Not intentionally, we are expected in the hall….I would prefer not to be interrupted by Hagrid should Minerva send him out searching.” Hermione looked up at the clock on her mantel and frowned. He was right; they were due in less than fifteen minutes.





“Alright…..are you sure that’s the only reason?” She asked, sitting up and smoothing down her hair. Severus reached for her hand and to her immense surprise he pressed it against his trousers and let her feel the evidence of his desire for her.





“Just so there are no doubts in your head as to my desire for you, or my ability to act on it.” He removed his hand from atop hers and re-buttoned his jacket. He smirked when she didn’t remove her hand; instead she squeezed him gently, her fingers exploring the rigid flesh beneath the woolen trousers. “You may want to remove your hand, I still need to walk to the hall and if you don’t give me a chance to calm down, it could prove uncomfortable.”





Hermione reluctantly pulled her hand away with a petulant frown. Severus actually laughed.



“You are a tease, Severus.” She huffed, getting up to retrieve a set of robes from her closet. By the time she returned he was back to his formal self, everything back to rights.





“Alright, escort me to dinner you big tease.” She smiled, grabbing his arm and tugging him behind her and out the door.





“Aren’t you worried that people will see us?” He asked, noting the curious looks from students who had seen him exit her rooms behind her.





“Not really, seems that everyone is already talking about us.” She said, holding on to his arm as they walked down the stairs on their way to the hall.





“How is that?” He asked. He didn’t socialize often so he wasn’t up on the latest gossip.





“I went to the Weasley’s today, and apparently everyone was abuzz with the news that I was seen in Hogsmeade ‘canoodling’ with some dark wizard.” She laughed.





“And they know that the ‘dark wizard’ was me?” He asked, curious now about how her friends had taken it. None of them had ever been particularly fond of him, and Harry only tolerated him after he had learned the truth of his past.





“Not at first, but I got tired of their badgering and forfeited the information.” She said as they slipped down a back corridor used by the staff.







“Should I expect a few curses?” He asked.





“No, they were shocked….really shocked, but they trust me to handle you.” She said. When they reached the door to the hall, Hermione stepped in front of it and blocked his path. “You can’t enter unless you pay the toll.”





At first Severus was confused, but then he caught on that she was teasing him. He wasn’t used to being teased by anyone, or being so shamelessly flirted with for that matter. He looked both ways down the hall and was relieved to discover that they were alone.



“And just how much is the toll, my lady?” He asked, stepping closer to her.





“Nothing you can’t afford, a kiss.” He leaned in to buss her lips. “And not a pansy ass peck on the lips either, I want a real kiss Severus. And then I’ll let you in to eat your dinner.” He smiled then, a real smile that reached his eyes and stole her breath just as his lips covered hers. She almost purred against his lips as the contact went all through her. She was fascinated by her response to his kiss. She had kissed a few boys, a few men and none had affected her quite like this. He pulled back, staring down at her while his tongue slid over his bottom lip.





“Sufficient payment?” He asked quietly, his voice low and raspy.





“Mmmm….for a down payment…..I’ll expect the next installment after supper.” She said, biting her lip.





“I need to break you of this habit.” He said, brushing his thumb over her lip. “I have rounds tonight.” He said.





“I’ll come with you.” She tugged on the handle and let her weight push the door open and into the hall. She smiled and sauntered away, climbing onto the dais as he followed. She glanced back at him when he held out her chair and she could still see the smile in his eyes, even if it wasn’t on his lips.