Rodolphus stared at his wife longingly as she tucked her long, curly hair up in preparation for one of the innumerable parties that it felt like they were always attending. He would have given anything for her to take him to bed right then, would willingly have begged for it – not that that would have been difficult for him; he had begged for Bellatrix plenty of times before – but she didn't even look at him, focussing instead on the mirror and her careful evaluation of her appearance.

"Are you sure that it's completely necessary that we attend the party?" he asked tentatively.

"Haven't I told you enough times?" Bellatrix asked. Her voice was cool and a bit impatient, but with a soft, sensual undertone that Rodolphus recognized as meaning that she wasn't really irritated with him. "Yes, it's completely necessary… and I don't know why you're complaining," she added, "when I've promised to make it up to you…" She turned towards him, her eyes gleaming wickedly. "Isn't knowing that I'll be doing something special for you later good enough for you?"

He didn't respond, and Bellatrix laughed quietly. "I suppose you'd like a little… taste of what you'll get… before we go?"

"Yes, Bella…" he murmured, his breath catching.

She reached out slowly, her fingers skating over the fastenings of his robes. "You're a dreadful slut sometimes, you know, Rodolphus," she said sweetly.

"Only for you."

Bellatrix laughed, pulling her hand back. "That's right. And if I were a nice woman, I'd give you something just for saying that… but since I'm not a nice woman…" She turned back to the mirror and allowed her dress to slip from her shoulder, the silk whispering against her skin and showing, just for a moment, a sliver of creamy flesh and the strap of her bra. It was all Rodolphus could do not to grab her and take her right then and there, the party be damned, but he restrained himself and looked away.

"Come on," Bellatrix said, turning back to him and taking his arm. "Let's go…"

"Let's," he agreed, and the only thought in his mind was the sooner we leave, the sooner we can go home… and the sooner we can get home…

"And don't stare at me too much during the party, darling," Bellatrix purred, interrupting his thoughts. "It's rude."

)O(

"Cissy's parties are always dreadfully boring," Bellatrix murmured in his ear as they sat at the long, oak table that graced the dining room of Malfoy Manor. Narcissa and Lucius were at the head, and Bellatrix and Rodolphus a few seats down from them. Rodolphus was trying very hard to pay attention to the conversation – a discussion of politics, which so often seemed to be what all dinner conversations turned to – but it was a touch difficult with Bellatrix's leg brushing his.

He glanced at her and she smirked a little, running the tip of her tongue around her lips and leaning closer to him. Her hand curled around his wrist beneath the table, the tip of her thumbnail scratching over sensitive skin, drawing small spirals on his flesh. Rodolphus took in a sharp, hissing breath between his teeth.

"We should make the party… more interesting…" she purred.

Rodolphus dropped his gaze to the table and did not look back at her. He stared resolutely at the plate in front of him, taking deep, slow breaths and letting them out between gritted teeth. If he could – if he had dared, and there were ohso many reasons why he didn't – he would have thrown Bellatrix down on the table, pushed all of Cissy's pretty silverware and those crystal goblets she was so proud of aside and fucked Bellatrix there, in front of them all, listening to their scandalized gasps – let them gasp, let them be shocked that there existed a couple who could please each other…

"Is someone getting excited?" Bellatrix breathed. Her breath tickled the side of his neck, and she reached down slowly to put her hand on his thigh. Her nails dug lightly into his skin through his robes and he had to bite down on his tongue to stop himself from moaning.

"I know what sorts of thoughts you're having, Rod," she breathed. "And I hope your little fantasy is pleasing you…" Her hand moved slightly and her palm brushed against his cock. She smirked. "Oh… it is."

"Is something wrong, Bella? Rodolphus?" Narcissa asked rather sharply, looking down the table at her sister. "You know, I'm sure that whatever you're talking about there is much more interesting and important than what the restof us are discussing – why don't you tell us?"

"There's no need to be so sharp, Cissy," Bellatrix said, not missing a beat nor revealing in her tone that her hand was resting on her husband's cock. "I wasn't aware that our attention was important to your discussion, but if it is, then of course we'll be quiet… won't we, Rodolphus?"

He managed a stiff nod, every muscle in his body clenching against the urge to thrust against his wife's hand, to moan in pleasure, to…

Bellatrix was looking at Narcissa now, her eyes wide and innocent and her brows drawn together slightly in a contemplative way, but while one hand was resting lightly on the table and her fingers tapping against the edge of her dinner plate, the other hand was down between Rodolphus's legs still, working his erection lightly between her fingers.

The things she did to him…

"Bella," he hissed, trying to keep his expression smooth and hoping that no one would notice the flush rising on his face. Bellatrix did not respond, save for a small twitch of the corner of her lips, just enough to indicate that she had heard him and that his response pleased her.

Rodolphus tried to look at Narcissa as well, tried to listen to the conversation, but it was quite impossible. Bellatrix's hand felt incredible – better than incredible– on his cock, and it was enough to make him dizzy.

Suddenly, Bellatrix spoke up, interrupting the conversation. "Cissy, I wonder if you would excuse Rodolphus and I for just a moment?"

"Pardon?" Narcissa looked abruptly at her older sister, a wary glare that seemed to Rodolphus to indicate veryclearly that she knew what Bellatrix was thinking of. "What for?"

"There's just something… we need to take care of." Bellatrix didn't look fazed in the slightest, nor did she even glance at Rodolphus, despite her fingers still sliding over the length of his shaft beneath his trousers. "We'll only be a moment."

Narcissa opened her mouth to protest, but Lucius shot her a sharp glance and she closed it and nodded. "Go on, then."

Bellatrix's lips twitched and she stood up swiftly, turning and heading for the door. Rodolphus briefly considered staying behind just to spite her, just to see what she would do, but the insistent throb all through his lower body put that thought from his mind quickly. He followed her, taking care to arrange his robes so that the bulge in his trousers wouldn't be visible.

As soon as he was out of the dining room and the door shut, Bellatrix was on top of him, her hands knotting in his hair and pulling his head back.

"Enjoying that, weren't you?" she breathed. Her breast was heaving against the tight constraints of her bodice and her eyes sparkled wildly.

"We shouldn't be doing–"

"Don't tell me what we should and shouldn't be doing." Bellatrix raised one hand threateningly, as though about to slap him, and Rodolphus cringed back, his breath speeding. He wanted to grab at her, wanted to tear at her clothes – but no, of course he couldn't do that.

She wouldn't have had it.

"Sorry," he breathed, and her eyes glinted.

"You know how I love it when you… apologize to me…" She slid one hand slowly down his torso, slipping it beneath the folds of his robes and stroking his cock again. Rodolphus was aware of a small patch of dampness on his trousers, and he moaned.

"You're pretty when you're like this," Bellatrix murmured. "When you're… desperate…"

"I'm not desperate," Rodolphus told her, but if his expression, his posture and the way that he was thrusting against her hand hadn't given him away, the moan that his words trailed off into when she flicked the buckle of his belt undone would have been.

"Nonsense," she told him as she slid her hand down into his trousers, and he could not have protested if he had wanted to. His body melted against hers, he clutched her shoulders for support and moaned, and she purred quietly as she worked her hand up and down his shaft.

"They'll hear you in the dining room," she breathed. "I don't suppose that bothers you… everyone in there hearing you moaning for it like a slut…"

"Bella…"

"I imagine you rather like it, in fact, don't you?" Her nails dragged down the underside and he jumped, gasping sharply. "I expect that you're very fond of them knowing…" Her voice trailed off into a high, breathy laugh. "Aren't you? Say it…"

"I like- them knowing- what you can do to me," he managed to whisper. He was trembling, barely able to stand, and Bellatrix laughed.

"I knew you'd say that," she whispered, then her hand wrapped tightly around his cock and he almost collapsed as she pulled on it, jerking her hand back and forth along the length until he was on the brink of his orgasm.

"Bella…" he groaned, and then her hand was gone and she stepped backwards. Rodolphus trembled, aware of a small, unsatisfying trickle of seed oozing from the head of his cock. Bellatrix pressed her fingers against his lips. He tasted his pre-come on her skin. His whole body curved in on itself and he couldn't help letting out a dry, pained sob.

"Aww…" Bellatrix smirked, lowering her hand and brushing it against her skirt to clean it. "Is something wrong?"

"Hurts–" His cock was throbbing and his body shaking desperately. He needed her desperately and he could tell from the way that she was smirking at him that she knew just exactly how much he needed her.

And that she loved it.

Rodolphus lunged for her, trying to grab her, and she skipped back, giggling girlishly. "Ah, ah, ah… No, you don't, darling…"

"Bellatrix…"

"Go back into the dining room. They'll be missing us." She pointed at the doorway, one eyebrow arching very slightly as though she was daring him to disobey her, and Rodolphus, still breathless and shaking, barely managed to do up his trousers and stumble inside. From behind him, he could hear Bellatrix still laughing quietly.

He was aware of Narcissa and Lucius – and their other guests – staring at him with what he assumed was a combination of amusement and shock, for surely they had heard him and Bellatrix, and hoped he did not look as flushed or pained as he felt. Bellatrix's footsteps were audible behind him, and when he sank back into his seat, he was aware of her letting out a soft, breathy laugh between her teeth.

"Bitch," he hissed when she was seated beside him at the table again.

"You love me for it," she murmured back, so sweetly, and he could not argue with that.