Draco Malfoy had been living his teenage fantasies for the past three months. He'd had Hermione Granger in his bed, usually two or three nights a week, and he was terrified to fuck it all up. He knew it was a stroke of pure luck that she had ended up there the first time. He had approached her to tease her in a Knockturn Alley pub, and she was just tipsy enough to agree to go home with him. From there, she had asked him to essentially take control of her in the bedroom, and he'd been doing exactly that.

Since the war, he'd been cordial to the Golden Trio, but he'd never anticipated a situation like this. Draco knew that a girl like Hermione didn't end up with a guy who picked on her and essentially wished for her death when they were younger. She was brilliant and beautiful and fierce. He knew it couldn't possibly last forever, and he was already fearing the end. He knew no one else would ever compare to the swotty muggleborn witch who managed to make him ache for her touch.

Draco had been away on business in New York. He was looking to convert some muggle technologies for use in the wizarding world, and the Americans were at the forefront of that endeavor already. Wizards and muggles lived much more closely in America, and he was shocked by how easily they co-existed. He had originally thought he'd be in New York for one week, but it had somehow morphed into a two-week trip. While in America, one of his associates had set him up with a cell phone. Hermione had given him her number before he left, so he was able to call her and tell her he'd be home much later than expected.

He was finally home, and he was waiting for Hermione to get to his flat. He had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his light grey dress shirt. He knew that rolling the sleeves drove her absolutely insane. Draco ordered their favorite dinner, take-out Chinese from a place around the corner, and he was placing it all under a stasis charm when he heard his floo activate.

Hermione stepped out, and his eyes roamed over her body. Her simple black dress hugged her curves in all the right places, and he ached to just hold her. He didn't let himself approach her. He knew her feelings on relationships—every single one she'd had she found boring and thought it had ruined a previously great friendship. Welcoming her with a hug and kiss seemed like a very relationship thing to do.

Instead of hugging her, he threw on a smirk and said, "Food or fun first, pet?"

Draco watched her cheeks turn pink and her brown eyes heat. "Fun, I think. I don't know if I can wait. It's been two weeks."

She was eager to fuck, and he was too, but he felt like their motivations were entirely different. He just wanted to touch her and be inside of her, no domination or games involved. Hermione always wanted him in charge, always wanted to try new things. He often felt like she was using him to find out what she wanted from the sexual side in an actual relationship when the time came.

Draco noticed her checking him out, her eyes focused on his forearm with the Dark Mark. This had turned into a point of contention with them a month into their series of sexcapades. She loved to see it, and he felt like she had some weird Death Eater fetish and was taking a walk on the wild side with him, like he was some bad boy she had to get out of her system before she found Mr. Right. Hermione had assured him over and over that wasn't the case; to her, it meant that he could change. It meant that even though he had once hated her, he had overcome his prejudices enough to take her as lover. When she said things like that, it made him think she may be open to something more than what they currently had.

He knew his mind was spinning out of control. He forced himself to focus on Hermione. "Pet, you're staring again," he said.

"Can't help it. I'm a lucky girl, having someone so fucking sexy who wants to ravish me," she said, upping the ante.

Draco knew this game well. "Who said I want to ravish you?"

She laughed and flipped him off, wondering if she realized that it brought him back to the first night they were together. He decided it was safe to bring that night up. "Now all you need is a pint to down, and I might just get lucky tonight."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, something she did often. He used to find it annoying, but now he just found it endearing. "Malfoy, you know as well as I do that I'll likely be on my knees or bent over for you within the next hour. I'm not playing hard to get."

He took his chance and scooped her up bridal style, holding her close to his body. "Why wait an hour?" he said.

Hermione tilted her face towards him and kissed him. "I missed you, even if you're the world's biggest prat."

He savored her lips and her words. "I missed you, too. I hope you got a lot done at your internship while I was gone."

Draco set her down on the bed and climbed in next to her. She rolled onto her side to face him. "I did, I finally fully transformed since you weren't here to distract me."

He reached down and pulled her shoes off of her feet. "So you're an Animagus now? Did you register?"

"Yes, I did," Hermione said. "Minerva came to the ministry with me, and we did all the paperwork."

"Are you going to tell me what your form is? Or are you going to make me beg?" he asked.

"It's your job to make me beg, Draco! Do you want to see me transform?"

He nodded, and Hermione stood on the floor. He watched her shift from a human into a beautiful red fox. She leapt gracefully onto the bed and curled up beside him. Her eyes were almost the same, even though they were much smaller. She morphed back into her human form and smiled. "Am I cute as a fox?"

"You are. In fact, you were so cute as a fox, I think I need to have you now," Draco said, bringing his lips to her neck.

A humming sound came from Hermione's throat, and he brought his hand to her thigh. His hand was inching its way up towards her panties when Hermione blurted, "Were you with anyone when you were in New York?"

Draco froze. He hadn't been expecting her to ask that. Had she been with someone else while he was gone? Is that why she was asking? "No, I was working nearly non-stop. Were you with someone else while I was gone?"

Her saw her visibly relax. "No, I wasn't. I just wasn't sure… I mean, we've never talked about any sort of exclusivity in this and I was just wondering."

He almost laughed. She really didn't know how much he cared for her, that no one else could compare to her in his eyes. "We didn't discuss it, no, but I've been treating this as exclusive since the beginning."

"Good, I have been, as well," Hermione said, almost sounding relieved.

Was it possible she was on the same page as him?

Draco's hand resumed its trek up her thigh and he brought his lips to hers, trying to convey a very specific message—he only wanted her, she was who he dreamed of every night. He hadn't known he was seeking forgiveness for their past until he already had it. Once he had it, his nightmares had almost fully stopped.

When his hand reached her knickers, he felt satin. She usually wore lace. "Something new under here?" he asked.

Hermione nodded at him. "I got something new for tonight to welcome you home. Take my dress off."

They stood and she pulled her hair over her shoulder. Draco unzipped the dress and saw the band of her bra first. It was emerald green. Once the zipper was all the way down, he brought his hands up to her shoulders and started sliding the dress down painfully slowly. He was taking his time unwrapping his present, and he knew it would drive her crazy. He started to kiss between her shoulder blades as the dress dropped to the floor.

Draco looked down at her arse. It was partially covered by the green satin, exposing just enough flesh to entice. He turned Hermione around and forced her to bend over with her torso on the bed. His hands started to rub and knead every inch of her back. He could hear her breathing growing shaky. He dropped to his knees behind her to rub and massage her legs in the same way. The closer he got to her center, the more she squirmed and whimpered. He loved making her needy; he generally did this right before starting to be rough with her, so he knew that's what she was expecting.

Tonight, though, Draco was planning on getting her worked up and then taking his sweet time, savoring every inch of her. He squeezed her arse a few times, stood, and then pulled her upright and turned her around. Hermione looked into his eyes, and he could see how turned on she was. He took a step back and admired his present. She was a vision in green. He motioned for her to twirl around. He watched and when she stopped, he said, "Sweet Salazar, you're so sexy. Lay on your back on the bed."

She immediately got on the bed and closed her eyes. He knew she was trying to guess what was coming next. She heard him start to undress, and her eyes popped open to watch. Draco removed all of his clothing, not wanting anything to get in his way once they started. He climbed on the bed next to her, and he started kissing her again. Hermione seemed a little surprised, but she went along with it, kissing him back and running her fingers through his hair.

As the heat grew between them, he started fondling her breasts through the bra. He moved on top of her, propping himself up on his elbows, and he pulled the cups of the bra down, presenting her nipples to him. He sucked one into his mouth and teased the other between his thumb and middle finger. Hermione started writhing and panting beneath him, wrapping her legs around his hips and trying to grind her sex against him.

Draco stopped his ministrations and whispered, "Princess, lay flat. I'm going to take care of you. Just be patient."

Hermione whimpered, patience not being her strong suit, but she listened to him. He resumed sucking and teasing her nipples, alternating which he was sucking and nibbling on. After a few minutes, he started kissing his way down her abdomen. When he got to the top of her knickers, he licked her from one side to the other and back again. When Draco's tongue briefly sampled the top of her slit on the way back, she cried out in frustration. He smiled to himself and progressed to her thighs. He licked and sucked her skin from her knee to her center on both legs. He could see her wetness on her satin knickers; they had soaked through.

Draco peeled them down her legs very slowly, like he had done with the dress, and moved his mouth to her swollen clit. As soon as he started to suck on it, she arched her back and let out a loud moan. Her fingers went into his hair, almost holding him in place. He slowly slipped two fingers inside of her and stroked her just the way he knew she liked. If nothing else, he had learned her body over the past three months. He was drawing her pleasure out, making her meander towards the peak rather than sprint to it like she usually did.

Draco could hear her trembling breaths, the wet sounds coming from her pussy as he moved his fingers, and the filthy words she was muttering. Hermione lost track of everything she said in moments like this, and he loved that. Her murmurs of "fuck", "so fucking good", "need your cock", and "please fuck me" just spurred him on. He was waiting until she started moaning almost continually and touching her own breasts. After a few minutes of giving her the slower, extended foreplay, he felt one hand leave his head and he watched as she wet her fingers in her mouth. After that, she brought them to her nipple to start teasing herself. In that moment, he knew she was ready to lose her mind. He finally applied more pressure to her g-spot and flicked his tongue over her bud while sucking hard.

Hermione's hips arched off the bed, trying to bring her sex even closer to his face. Her shorter staccato moans transformed into a longer guttural one and he felt her cunt clench around his fingers. Her legs were shaking and the rest of her body had fallen limply to the bed. Draco kissed his way up her body and smirked when he reached her mouth. She kissed him back lightly between panting breaths.

Hermione's eyes open and he stared into them, getting lost in the amber irises. "I missed you so much, Draco," she said.

"I missed you, too," he said, sliding deep inside her.

He grabbed her hands and pinned them beside her head, keeping their fingers interlocked. He moved more slowly and purposefully than he normally would, trying to send her a message without saying the words that would scare her off. He knew she believed relationships to be boring and lacking in passion, but he wanted her to know that this was so much more than just shagging to him.

"Oh, Draco, please, a little harder," she cried, and he obliged, making his thrusts a bit more forceful.

The sounds of Hermione's moans increased and she was squeezing his hands. He kissed her neck and collarbones, trying to drown her in sensation. He felt her legs ride up a bit higher on his back and start to shake again. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Come for me, princess. I need to feel you squeeze me. It's been too long since I've felt your hot little cunt tighten around me." He made sure to exhale, knowing his hot breath against her ear was another turn on for her.

After a few more strokes, he felt her orgasm rippling through her body. He freed her hands and she immediately moved one to his back and the other to his hair. She ran her fingers through the sweat dampened strands while continuing to meet his thrusts. Her eyes were open and she looked drunk with lust. "Will you come again in this position, Hermione?" he asked.

"Maybe," she said.

Draco didn't like maybe. He pulled out of her and kneeled between her legs. "Flip over on to your stomach," he said.

As usual, she followed his command without hesitation. He pushed her legs together and placed his knees on either side of her thighs. He entered her from behind, her legs being pressed together made her feel even tighter than usual. Hermione's moans picked up in volume, and he could tell she was enjoying the feeling of being trapped under his body. She struggled to meet his movements.

"Hermione, stay still. Just focus on feeling everything," he said, bringing his mouth down to her neck again.

She moaned and arched her back, bringing her chest up off the bed a bit. "Oh, Gods, Draco. I'm burning up. This is so fucking hot."

He decided to really go in for the kill. He grabbed her hands again and restricted her movement even further. He increased the pace and strength of his thrusts gradually. After a few minutes, she screamed his name and convulsed around him, shivering and sweating at the same time. Her curls were becoming more wild by the second. Draco finally let go and came hard inside of her, collapsing on top of her. He held some of his weight on his own arms so he wouldn't crush her.

When a few moments had passed, he managed to pull out of her and roll over onto his side. He faced her and met her eyes. "What was that?" she said.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "Did it feel different to you, too?"

She nodded. "I think it felt like a whole lot more than just sex."

Draco held his breath, unsure of what to say or where she was going with this conversation.

"Draco, I think we just… made love."

His eyes widened. "You might be right."

"I mean, yeah, you still pinned me to the bed, but that wasn't normal shagging. I felt… everything," she said, sounding a little scared.

"Hermione, don't start freaking out. I was right there with you. It felt amazing," he said, trying to calm her down.

She smiled at him. "I know, Draco. I didn't think it could be like that, that's all."

They laid in bed on their sides, just looking into each other's eyes. He was desperate to know what she was thinking, but he was afraid to speak. He knew she would open up eventually, so he waited her out.

"I had a feeling tonight would be different after being apart for two weeks, but I didn't think it would be like that," she said softly.

"What do you mean, Hermione?"

"I knew it would feel more intense. I missed you the whole time you were gone. I had to restrain myself from calling you once I had that phone number," she said. "But really, even in my most committed relationship, sex has never felt that… intimate to me."

Draco closed his eyes, waiting for her to jump out of bed and run for the hills. "I would have loved to hear from you while I was away. You should have called if you wanted to. So, what now?"

"I think I'm going to tell Harry and Ginny that I've been seeing you, if that's okay with you," Hermione replied. "I mean, we don't have to tell anyone if you don't want to, but I'm not planning on seeing anyone else and I feel like…"

He cut off her rambling with a kiss. "Hermione, tell whoever you want to tell. I want to be with you fully. I thought you were going to freak out and leave if I said anything. I know how you feel about relationships."

"Yes, well, I mainly think that I just wasn't suited to Ron or Oliver, and Viktor and I never really gave it a serious go. I know this was supposed to be just sex and fun, but somewhere along the way, I started to feel more than that. I had already said all of that rot about relationships being boring, and so I was nervous about bringing it up. I didn't want you to think I wanted things to get boring."

"Love," Draco said, "I don't think it's possible for things to be boring between us. I mean, with the way we started out hating each other at age eleven, ending up on different sides of a war as teenagers, and having hot sex in our twenties, how could things ever be boring?"

Hermione laughed. "Plus, we still get to give your father the biggest shock of his life when we tell him we're dating. I'm actually quite excited about that part."

Draco's face paled, thinking about Lucius's reaction. His father was already disappointed in the muggle twist to his business. His reaction to him dating the most famous muggleborn witch to have ever lived was going to be a performance to behold.

"There's that devious side coming out again," he said.

Hermione smirked at him. "Oh, poor Draco, he has to tell Mummy and Daddy he's dating the filthiest little mudblood of them all!"

"Oh, you're filthy for sure, witch. Keep teasing and I'll tell Potter and the Weaselette about some of the filthy things you're into."

She slapped his chest. "That's enough. Feed me before I die of starvation!"

Draco laughed, stood, and held his button-down shirt open for her. She slid into it and slipped her knickers on while he stepped into his boxer briefs. "Chinese takeaway in the kitchen. Get plenty of fuel in your delectable little body. I'm planning something absolutely debauched to make up for being sweet the first time."

Hermione smiled brightly. "I can't wait."

Draco felt much better knowing she returned his feelings. He knew that their relationship would be all about finding equilibrium—the perfect balanced state. They wouldn't be Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger if they never argued, but their arguing had to be balanced out by affection. They would have to find a balance between the old and the new ways of the wizarding world. And, of course, balancing his idea of making love with the domination Hermione craved in their sexual encounters.