Delicate

Chapter Nine: Expectations







I like to teach you all the rules

I get to see them set in stone

I like it when you chain me to the bed

there ya see what\'s never shown





As Hermione cooked breakfast the following day she pondered the strange events of the previous night. After a week of basically ignoring her Severus suddenly decided he wanted her reading to him, vagina exposed, while he stared at her. To any other woman this might have sent up a red freak flag but to Hermione it was a lesson in eroticism, one she had thoroughly enjoyed despite being horribly embarrassed.



She had felt his eyes on her and when she dared to look up into his face she had seen the desire there as he catalogued the details of her private parts. She knew he was aroused, she had seen it in tent he sported on his lap yet he was perfectly content to stare at her. He didn’t touch her, not once. In fact he made no move towards her whatsoever, he just watched. She had thought that surely he intended to take her to bed, it seemed logical, they were both aroused, both consenting adults, but she had been wrong.



He had no intention of sharing her bed last night and he didn’t appear to be in any great hurry to consummate this new…should she call it a relationship? It wasn’t really all that clear to her what they were doing. She didn’t really want to question it or him too much for fear that if she forced him to define it he would end it. She didn’t want him to end it, certainly not before it had really begun.



She looked up when she heard him enter, sending him a soft smile, “Good morning, Severus.”



“Good morning, Hermione,” he said walking to the table where he began removing her place setting. He stacked the dishes neatly and placed them on the counter beside the sink.



“Do you not want company for breakfast?” She asked in confusion as she sat the carafe of juice on the table.





“I desire your company very much,” he settled into his chair but did not slide it forward; instead he canted it at an angle. “Come here.” He held out his hand and she took it hesitantly, allowing him to pull her forward and down onto his lap.



“Um…what are you doing?” She wiggled slightly and felt him twitch beneath her bottom.



“Stop that,” he snapped, his hand landing firmly on the side of her thigh and causing her to yelp and stiffen. “We are going to have breakfast,” he said, using his wand to fill his plate and prepare his toast. He held a piece of the jam slathered bread to her lips and nearly chuckled when she bit into it, her brow furrowed as she waited for understanding. “Confused?”



She nodded and chewed slowly as he bit into the toast and then began to make his coffee, putting in way too many sugars as he always did. “I expect you to sit with me, just like this, at breakfast every morning.”



“Won’t people find it odd for me to sit on your lap while you feed me?” She asked, opening her mouth as he pressed a forkful of eggs against her lips.



“I shall give you a reprieve when others are near or the rare occasion when we may be dining out for breakfast, but when we are at home this is what I want from you,” he said softly. He didn’t raise his voice or address her in a demanding way, but the tone of his voice was hypnotizing and made her want to obey.



“Yes, Severus,” she agreed, biting into the crisp bacon he held up for her.



“Since you seem so intent on pursuing this relationship I suppose I should explain my expectations to you,” he said, continuing to feed her and his self from the same plate. “I thought about things for a long time last night, Hermione, and I have come to the conclusion that continuing to fight you or to try and dissuade you is futile. Since your reactions intrigue me and I am, reluctantly, attracted to you I have decided that I shall not even try but will engage with you so long as it pleases me.”



She blinked rapidly several times, unsure if she should be flattered or completely insulted by his comments. While he was telling her that he intended to have a relationship with her he was at the same time telling her that he was reluctantly attracted to her and would only continue with the relationship provided that HE was pleased with how it progressed. Just one more confusing aspect of the situation to add to a quickly growing list.



“Now, your notions about this sort of relationship seem to have been derived from works of fiction; novels and films that only explore the darker side of the D/s relationship,” he said in his “teacher” voice. “I explored your room the other day…”



“You what?” She bristled and was about to lay into him when he arched his brow at her, silencing her as effectively as a silencio spell.



“As I was saying, I explored your room the other day and perused the titles on your nightstand. All of your books are focused on the sexual aspect of the relationship. That is only part of it, Hermione, and it isn’t the important part,” he held a glass of juice to her lips and she sipped carefully.



“It’s not?” She asked.



“No, it’s not,” he nearly smiled at her. “What I seek in a partner is not complete control over another. I lived under the complete control of others for too long; I have no desire to inflict that life upon someone else.”



“I don’t understand,” she said softly. He smiled and laid his hand on the small of her back.



“What I want is what I never had,” he explained, “I want someone in my life who will trust me. Someone who trusts me to make decisions, who trusts me to take care of them.” He could tell by her expression that she was still at a loss to understand, she still assumed that it was all about sex. “There is so much for you to learn, Hermione; this is why I tried to warn you away. I don’t want a sex slave, I don’t want a whore, I want someone to love me enough to trust me implicitly. Are you going to be able to do that, I wonder?”





“I want to,” she whispered. “I’m new to this, Severus, I need to learn because obviously my research was lacking in some very important areas.”



“I have no doubt that it was rich in visual aids and descriptive vulgarities,” he said, laughter edging his voice. Her blush told him that he had hit the nail on the head with his comment. “There may come a time, should this thing between us progress, that I ask you to push the boundaries of what you may be comfortable with sexually, I will certainly test your boundaries emotionally, it isn’t always about restraints and leather and pain. A Dom may make-love with his partner with tenderness, love and rich emotion, often it is his caring that brings the most satisfying submission from his partner.”



He watched her lips tremble and listened to the ragged cadence of her breathing. Her assumptions and conclusions about the D/s relationship were being challenged and he could read her frustration at being misinformed and her eagerness at the prospect of learning more. He held his coffee up to her mouth and she took a hesitant sip, wincing at the overly sweet flavor.





“You always make your coffee too sweet,” she said.



“I like it sweet,” he set it back on the table and reached up to clasp her chin and turn her face towards his. The sudden, slightly forceful action caused her to gasp in surprise. “We need to establish the ground rules for this relationship, Hermione. I will lay out my expectations; you may argue any that you disagree with and if your argument is convincing enough I may be willing to negotiate it. These expectations are intended to establish our roles in this relationship and should be considered a foundation to build on as we go and get to know one another on a completely different level from where we have known one another previously. There is only one rule that is non-negotiable.”



“What might that be?” She asked, wriggling in his lap as the commanding tone of his voice and the feel of his fingers firmly clasping her chin caused her sex to flood with slippery fluid. Her fidgety behavior earned her a light swat on the bottom and she whimpered unintentionally.



“If at any time you find yourself unable to bear what is happening between us you will say to me ‘Severus, it is too delicate. and I will stop, this is what some would call a safe-word, or phrase. Do you understand?” He demanded her answer.



“I understand, Severus,” she answered.



“Good, now I suspect I should lay out my expectations, answering some of your questions and entering territory that fits in with your research,” he smirked. “First, when you greet me after a period of separation I expect you to come to me and offer a kiss of hello. Before you go to bed I expect the same, whether I am lying beside you or not.”



“Is there a limit to the length of separation, or am I to kiss you every time you come back from the loo?” She asked.



“You may if you feel inclined to kiss me, but I will expect it only for periods longer than two hours,” he said. “Now, I expect you to be completely honest with me at all times, you will tell me how you feel, what you are thinking and you will not keep things from me.”



“I can do that,” she said.



“I shall not make demands on you in public and I will not interfere with you relationship with your friends. When you are away from home without me I expect you to inform me of your whereabouts so that I do not worry and I expect you to notify me of any changes in your plans. If I am to share your bed I expect to be the only wizard to do so. Can you live with this?” He asked, anxiety rising inside him. This was normally where the women in his past had told him to piss off. Of course he had not begun those relationships with his preferences and proclivities already on the table; he had revealed them gradually over time.





“I-I can try,” she whispered. He did smile then. It wasn’t a wide, teeth baring smile but it was a smile none the less.



“Then we have a beginning,” he said, sliding his hand up her spine. “Hermione, why do you wear corsets beneath your clothing instead of a brassiere?” Her cheeks heated to a very deep shade of crimson and she swallowed hard.



“How did you know?”



“I can feel the stays through your clothing,” he said, leaving out the fact that he had rifled through her bureau drawers and seen her assortment of lingerie.



“Oh…I like the way they feel,” she said honestly. “I like the snaps and the boning and I like the way they look. Sort of naughty and functional at the same time.”



“A constant form of restraint?” He queried, watching her skin prickle as chills racked her spine and she shuddered in his lap. “I see, your reactions tell me so much, Hermione.”



“I-is that b-bad,” she asked, feeling his fingertips tracing the stiff boning of her corset beneath her shirt.



“No, they guide me, like a map leading me to where we should be,” he whispered, releasing her chin and sliding his hand to the side of her neck. “You haven’t given me a proper good morning.”



She licked her lips and leaned forward, bracing her hands on his shoulders just before her lips touched his. She grazed his lips with hers for a moment, parting them slightly and fitting her mouth against his. He kissed back, one hand on her spine and the other on her pulse. She felt his tongue press against the seam of her mouth and she opened on a sigh, letting the tip of his tongue curl just inside her lips. He tickled and teased at the sensitive skin, investigated the line of sharp little teeth before pushing deeper to taste the heady flavor of her mouth. He butted the tip of her tongue with his, goading her into reciprocation until the kiss turned into something hot, wet and purely carnal. When she was moaning into his mouth and her hands had slid from his shoulders to curve around his back and hold him tight he eased back, returning once and then again for a soft, pecking kiss.



She was breathing heavily, her pants punctuated with tiny little moans as she rested her forehead against his shoulder. Her hands were splayed across his upper back, her fingers kneading the tight muscles which left him in no hurry to pull away. Nor was he in any great rush to remove her hot, lush little arse from his lap. It felt nice to hold her and have her hold him back because she wanted to.



“Your kisses make me dizzy,” she moaned.



“The feeling is mutual,” he replied.



“I still can’t believe it, I wanted this for so long,” she whispered.



“Why did you never say anything to me?”



“Because I know you, Severus, regardless of how you are taking it now I know that had I said anything before you would have…freaked,” she drew back and smiled at him, raking her teeth over her bottom lip that was soft and slightly swollen from his kisses.



“You are probably right,” he said. He took a deep breath and then nudged her off of his lap, his hand sliding over the round curve of her bottom as she stood. “We need to finish the lab set up today.”





“Alright, I’ll just clean up and then meet you in the lab,” she said as she began to gather up the dishes and clear the table.



“Hermione, when you come to the lab I want you wearing only your skirt and corset,” he said as he stood and moved in behind her. Her hair was pulled up into a plastic clip and the back of her neck was bare. He pressed his lips to the soft skin at her nape and felt her shudder. “I’ll see you soon.”



She nearly fell to the ground when her knees buckled as he left. Severus Snape was turning out to be more than she ever dreamed he could be.







Control by Puddle of Mudd



I love the way you look at me

I feel the pain you place inside

you lock me up inside ya dirty cage

while I\'m alone inside my mind

I like to teach you all the rules

I get to see them set in stone

I like it when you chain me to the bed

there ya see what\'s never shown

[Chorus]

I need to feel you

You need to feel me

I can\'t control you

You\'re not the one for me, no

I can\'t control you

You can\'t control me

I need to feel you

So why\'s it even

I love the way you break my skin

I feel the hate you place inside

I need to get your voice out of my head

Cause I\'m the guy you\'ll never find

I think you know all the rules

there\'s no expressions on your face

I hope that some day you will let me go

Release me from my dirty cage

[Chorus]

I need to feel you

You need to feel me

I can\'t control you

You\'re not the one for me, no

I can\'t control you

You can\'t control me

I need to feel you

So why\'s it even...you and me..

[Repeat 4x]

I love the way you look at me

I love the way you smack my ass

I love the dirty things you do

I have control of you

[Chorus]

I need to feel you

You need to feel me

I can\'t control you

You\'re not the one for me, no

I can\'t control you

You can\'t control me

I need to feel you

So why\'s it even you and me..

[Repeat 4x]

You\'re not the one for me, no













~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @



So ladies, can you follow all of Sev’s rules?





SUCKERFORSNAPE – Yeah, I wouldn’t have either LOL

SOPHIEBELLE – I just love Snape period =)

SEVIBABY – yeah, I agree. I like to think that he never had an attraction to her or any one while they were his student, therefore I don’t think he would indulge in the teacher/student fantasy. But maybe virgin/deatheater fantasies were his thing LOL….



MARITERI - Im gonna have to look that song up LOL never heard it.

LADYMALFOY – I think that sometimes the right pet finds you. Not the other way around.

BDH_girl - thank you sweetie, Im glad that they bring you a smile or two.

NARCISSAS SISTER – I know, I was sitting in a meeting when I heard that little phrase whisper through my mind in Alan Rickmans sexy drawl….I was definitely squirming in my chair.



SCARLET QUILL – I don’t mean to leave ya hanging LOL….but Sev does enjoy sensual torture and teasing =)

ANNIE – I am more likely to believe a sub Hermione and dom Sev than vice versa

MEANKITTY69 - wait till you read what he does to her in a few chapters LMAO

TARA – Thanks!

AUNDREE’A – Oh yes…he will drag it out, and he WILL have her screaming =)

REBELROSE – I love sexual tension. =)

HarryGinny4eva – I wouldn’t do anything to scare you LOL…that’s not true, I like to get a rise out of people. But this form of D/s is sensual, loving…



Sheedy – good to see you reading =)



Sarah Ayn – every other day =)

LADY OF CLUNN – You know, im glad that you picked up on that. During my research I spoke to a couple I know who have that sort of relationship and they explained to me that it wasn’t always about chains and leather and whips and etc. That it was often loving and sensual and a punishment didn’t have to be physical or painful. I feel proud to have gotten that across.