Written For:

Sophie as a birthday present

Warnings for consensual infidelity

Desire

Hermione stared at her reflection, and she hated what she saw. She never hated herself so much. Even when she was an outcast among her peers, Hermione could hold her head up high because she knew she was doing the right thing.

That was no longer true, though. She could no longer defend herself because she was wrong. She had never been more wrong in her life.

A knock on the door sounded. "How long are you going to be?"

Hermione closed her eyes. "I'll be out in a second."

"Good, I can't wait to get my hands and mouth on you."

Despite her all-consuming guilt, she felt a sharp tingle between her legs at the images in her head at his words, and she pressed her thighs tightly together.

And that was the crux of the problem.

No matter how wrong she knew it was, she couldn't say no to him. She wanted him too badly for that.

She turned on the faucet and splashed some water on her face. She then shut it off and shook her head, as if she was trying to shake the troubling thoughts right out of it.

Hermione took a deep breath, turned around, and open the door to come face to face with her older lover. "Lucius," she murmured.

His response was to grab her and pull her into a hard kiss which helped to successfully, albeit temporarily, push her overwhelming guilt away.

"Why did you waste time putting that on?" Lucius asked between kisses as his fingers slipped beneath the strap, roughly pulling it down her arms, almost ripping the fabric in his haste.

"I've got to make it a little more difficult for you, don't I?"

Lucius' mouth covered hers, his hands slipping underneath the hem of her nightdress to grip her arse.

She moaned, pressing herself against his hardness, loving the power she felt at his obvious desire for her. It was nice to know that it wasn't one-sided.

They found their way to the bed and fell on top of the mattress. Hands and mouths were everywhere and once again, Lucius proved how masterful he was at making Hermione forget.

X

Fingers gently caressed her back, but they did nothing to soothe her agitation.

"You're thinking too hard," Lucius said.

"I can't help it. My mind keeps going back to Narcissa."

"Why? She's with her own boyfriend. It's not like she cares about what I do with you."

"I'm still technically the other woman, and I never thought that would be me."

Lucius cupped her cheek. "You are so much more than just the other woman."

She looked into his eyes, imploring him to be hers. "Then why can't we be together for real?"

"Because I might care for you deeply, and I certainly enjoy everything we do in bed, but I still love Narcissa. Before we started, you said you'd be okay with this arrangement."

She averted her gaze. "I thought I would be. I didn't expect to fall in love with you."

Lucius scooted away from her as he sat up. "Now what?"

She didn't know if she could say goodbye to him. She didn't know if she was strong enough to end their affair. What she did know was she wasn't happy. "I don't know," she whispered.

And the silence descended uncomfortably between them.

xXx

(word count: 559)