A/N:- Heya guys. This is just a quick one-shot that filtered into my brain and wouldn't leave me alone. It's set after CH 4 of What Witches Want but can also be read as a stand-alone.

DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognise is not mine, but I did ask for it for my birthday - 'fingers crossed'

This was written for pet-munchkin (she gave me the idea) but it's dedicated to Seveda and Hugo.

The Game Of Temptation

It was well past midnight when they'd stumbled as quietly as they could down the rickety wooden stairs that led to the basement kitchen of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, tired as they could be but still somewhat hungry. All the current occupants of the dreary old house had long since entered the land of dreams but still they sat in silence as they ate their late supper of bangers and mash, they knew that everyone slept on edge these days in fear of imminent attack and they didn't want to risk waking them, didn't want to risk intrusion on this private moment.

Remus Lupin sat on one side of the narrow kitchen table, his lanky form sitting rigidly straight in his chair as he ate, his impeccable manners shining through despite the late hour and lack of company. Every so often he would lightly place his fork on his plate and lift his hand in front of his mouth as he tried to stifle yet another yawn, his handsome features softly illuminated by the light emitting from the fireplace and few candles that littered the table.

As if in complete opposition Nymphadora Tonks sat directly across from him, her tiny body slouched awkwardly in her seat as she ate. One of her elbows was propped up on the table, her hand lazily supporting her lolling head whilst the other hand twirled the fork through what was left of her mashed potato, she was hungry but ultimately just too tired to eat. Her yawns occurred more frequently than Remus' but she didn't bother lifting her hand to cover her mouth anymore, the candlelight illuminating the fact that her hair, which was once a bright fluorescent pink, was now rather more a pastel colour, seemingly growing duller with each yawn.

If anyone were to walk into the kitchen they would just see two exhausted comrades eating a late meal in silence and think nothing of it but Tonks knew better, she knew what it really was and it anything but innocent. She alone could feel his knees constantly brush hers as they sat, feel his foot lightly run up her calf every so often when he got bold enough, could hear his breath catch in his throat when she returned the favour, could hear the hiss of air he inhaled when she went too far.

What wouldn't be immediately obvious to the outside observer was their boots lying abandoned under the table, his plain brown sock-clad foot gently rubbing against her pink and purple spotted one. They'd miss the shy smiles he offered her when he would do this, the way he bashfully ducked his head whenever she looked up to find him watching her closely, the lust that filled his dark brown eyes when her tongue would dart out of her mouth to deliberately lick her soft lips - but she noticed these things. No this was not an innocent supper, this was an intimate game which was beginning to grow frustrating.

That wasn't to say that she wasn't enjoying the light touches and unimpeded flirting, she was – in fact probably more than a grown woman should. Her stomach still filled with butterflies every time she caught him watching her, her skin still tingled when she felt his touch, even if was just through her clothing, but she felt an ache deep down in her core that yearned for more attention, an ache she found harder and harder to ignore every time his foot would snake its way up her leg.

She shifted restlessly in her seat, coming off an 8 hour shift at the Ministry of Magic and then doing 6 hours of Guard Duty for the Order had completely worn her out but her restless state had nothing to exhaustion. It was more due to the fact that she could feel his foot lightly rubbing against her ankle again. In fact, she could honestly say that at this stage she wasn't feeling tired anymore, no – sitting in the kitchen with him across from her, feeling his eyes constantly on her, knowing that he watching her made her feel exhilarated, it'd woken her up completely. Frequently feeling his enticing touch, constantly anticipating it, made her feel more alert than any amount of sleep ever could, in fact she was on the edge of her seat.

She let out a small gasp of surprise when his foot moved up from tenderly stroking her calf to daringly move higher on her knee, it was strange how audacious he'd become since she'd caught him in a towel earlier in the night – must've been the marauder coming out in him, although at the time she wasn't aware that she'd made her appreciation so obvious. Her eyes fluttered shut as she tried to concentrate solely on breathing and losing herself in the wonderful sensations he was creating in her but when his foot ventured up to stroke her inner thigh, she dropped the fork she was holding and it landed on her plate with clatter forcing her to open her eyes, forcing her to remember where she was.

She heard a soft chuckle emit hoarsely from his throat as he withdrew his foot from her leg and when she involuntarily whimpered at the loss of contact, she looked up in time to notice the smug, satisfied smirk that graced his features. What was he doing to her? She'd never before let herself turn to mush merely at a guys touch, he hadn't even kissed her yet. Well he had but it could barely be considered a proper kiss – their lips had scarcely even touched before they were interrupted.

Unconsciously she lifted her fingers to brush against her lips where his had once been, it wasn't much of a kiss but it'd been enough to make her weak and she swore she could still taste his lips on hers – she was dying to taste him for real. Deciding that she needed to remove herself from his proximity, she rose from her seat and walked away from the table to get a drink. In all honestly she could have just summoned a mug and the pitcher of water to the table but she didn't trust her magic right now, she was likely to summon Remus' clothes instead.

The cups in the basement kitchen were kept in the cabinet high above the sink and she considered morphing her height so that she properly reach but quickly decided against it when she noticed Remus watching her every move – time to give him some of his own medicine. So instead she stood on her tiptoes and elongated her body as she reached her arm up high above her head, her shirt riding up and exposing the creamy expanse of her well-toned midriff. She moved her hand around slowly, wiggling her bum enticingly in the process, as she searched blindly for a mug. A smug smirk graced her face this time when she heard an appreciative groan coming from his direction, she giggled softly – glad that he seemed to be as effected by her as she was by him.

The smile disappeared from her face however when she felt his hand roughly grasp her hip, his warm breath softly blowing against her ear – she hadn't even heard him get out of his seat. The butterflies swarmed back into her stomach at full force as his hands ran lightly over the naked skin on her hips and she started finding it hard to breathe again - it definitely wasn't funny anymore. She removed her hand from the cupboard and relaxed back from her tiptoes as she felt him pull her closer, settling her head against his chest as he leaned down and gently nibbled on her earlobe.

"It's not nice to tease, Nymphadora!"

Her eyes, which had fluttered closed again at his close contact, shot open immediately as she spun quickly in his grasp, her hair turning fiery red at his accusation – how dare he accuse her of teasing when he'd been the one orchestrating the events of the evening. She pushed hard on his chest so that stumbled back away from her a few steps, an affronted look taking over her blue eyes.

"Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus. And you're the one who's been teasing all night."

His eyes shot open wide in surprise as he gestured towards himself, the guilt in his eyes completely betraying the innocent act he was trying to procure.

"Me?"

Realising his game she walked towards him, gently swaying her hips as she went, rolling her eyes when she saw him practically drool. She didn't stop until she was directly in front, so close that she almost gave up the pretence and snogged him right there – but she knew that would be letting him win and she didn't want that. So steeled her gaze in mock anger and looked up at him.

"Yes, you."

She emphasised the word 'you' with a light jab to his chest before she walked past him, shaking her head slightly and wondering how far he'd let her get before he retaliated. She'd made it past him and was halfway to the door when fear filled her, he hadn't called her back yet. What if he wasn't playing games? The guilt disappeared immediately, however, when he grabbed her hand and roughly spun her around, pulling her back towards him, crushing her against his chest.

Even though she liked this new side of him, she was about to protest at his forceful actions but she was silenced by his lips on hers – obviously the game was over. She moaned softly against his lips at the contact, it was even better than she remembered, even better than she'd ever hoped. His lips were soft and warm and when his tongue lightly traced against her lips begging for entrance, she sighed into his mouth, gladly granting it. She'd never believed that it was actually possible for a kiss to leave you completely weak until she felt her knee's give out and she eternally glad that Remus' hands were on her hips holding her up.

When he was sure she could stand on her own he moved one of his hands from her hips and tangled it into her hair, pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss. She was so consumed by his warm mouth on hers that she didn't even realise that he was moving her backwards until she felt the table against the back of her legs. She could feel him pressing his upper body strongly up against hers and she knew exactly what he wanted, he wanted her on the kitchen table and although she was determined to win the game - she relented because she wanted it so badly too. Without breaking the kiss, she leant back gently on the table, her legs leaving the ground to hook around his waist as she pulled him half on top of her.

She felt his mouth leave hers and she bit her bottom lip as he left a trail of kisses across her cheek leading to her neck, his hands deftly undoing the buttons on her shirt in the process before slipping inside to run along her supple skin. She quietly slipped her hands under the back of his shirt, her nails soothingly scraping the skin she found there as she let out another moan of pleasure when she felt his tongue dart out to run up along her neck before he started gently nibbling on her earlobe again. She closed her eyes and lost herself completely in his touch, so much so that she didn't even hear what he said when he began mumbling sweet-nothings in her ear.

She let out a disappointed groan and jutted her bottom lip out in a pout as he let go of her earlobe and pulled back from her. He let out a small chuckle as he cupped her cheek with his hand, his thumb lightly stroking against her lips, a questioning look in his eyes.

"What?"

She asked the question tentatively as he continued to watch her.

"Do you want some maple syrup?"

WHAT??

RLNT-RLNT-RLNT- RLNT-RLNT-RLNT- RLNT-RLNT-RLNT

"OI TONKS!!"

She slowly opened her eyes and saw a plate full of pancakes in front of her. She felt a little disorientated and she sleepily rubbed her eyes as she lifted her head from where it was resting on her hand. A blush tinged her features when she looked up to find the kitchen table full of Order members and teenagers, all watching her with keen interest.

"Ahem"

At the sound of him clearing his throat, she turned to find her cousin Sirius watching expectantly, a rare smile lighting his rugged features.

"Sorry to interrupt your daydream cousin but we just wanted to know if you wanted the maple syrup?"

FIN

Ok that's it - hope you liked it. If your interested in more about the guard duty that was mentioned (or just want to find out why Tonks caught Remus in a towel) Check out my other story 'What Witches Want'

HATE IT/ LOVE IT - click the shiny lil button on the bottom left hand side and leave me a review PLEASE!!

HUGZ N KISSES

EllaQueenB