Disclaimer: I obviously don't own it. It's all for fun.

Mak is of course my beta; who is amazing.

Summary: Hermione and Severus have returned from Russia. What does life have in store for them now? Sequel to Fighting For His Freedom.

The sequel to Fighting For His Freedom. I hope you enjoy this little fic. Let me know what you think and review.

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Chapter Three

Love is for the Lucky and the Brave…In Bed

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Severus opened his eyes slowly, still groggy from the previous night's activities with his new wife. The white silk sheets rubbed smoothly across his chest as he stretched. He groaned as his neck muscles protested against the movement; his hand moving to massage the point causing him undue pain. Last night must have taken more out of me than I thought. Smirking to himself he mused, one of the benefits of having a young wife with an overactive sex drive.

Yes, married life was definitely agreeing with Severus Snape. In his youth, he never imagined himself marrying; instead, shagging as he needed, a permanent bachelor. The more he thought about his former views on wedded life, the more he was glad he was incorrect. Granted, they had only been married a few weeks, but, he knew before they were even married, that this was what he needed in his life.

Before Hermione, he had been a solitary man, living a bleak existence. When she had steamrolled into his life, it had been more than he wanted to deal with; however, over time he developed a strong need to be with her. She could be overbearing at times, blunt, and obnoxiously talkative, but, despite her annoying attributes, she had more admirable traits than he was willing to admit to. Undoubtedly, she was the love of his life, though he would also, never say it aloud.

After stretching languidly across the bed and yawning loudly up to the ceiling, he relaxed back into the bed. Hermione was in the shower and Severus was content just to doze a little longer. No doubt his wife would have them gallivanting across the city, taking in as many sights as they possibly could before he said enough is enough and dragged them back to the hotel. Yes, his wife was taking control of this honeymoon just like she did their wedding.

XXX

The night he asked Hermione to marry him, admittedly, he had been a bit drunk, but so had she. It wasn't as if he had no plans on marrying her; hell, he had every intention of asking her that evening, just not drunk or after a bout of amazing sex. Thinking back on it, he really didn't care that he asked her in that moment. She was absolutely beautiful in that moment, pinned beneath him, sweat covered, and looking up at him with such love it took his breath away. It would have been foolish on his part to not take the opportunity and act on it. There was no way she would say no to him in that moment.

The next morning, Hermione had owled her parents to tell them the news. A few quick floo calls later and the Boy Wonder, including the entire Weasley clan, knew about their engagement. By the afternoon, Hermione had wrestled out of Severus a date in autumn they could both agree on for the wedding. She had taken it entirely too serious for his liking.

Hermione had worked as quickly as possible to get everything together for their wedding. The only thing he needed to worry about was getting a tux, much to his dismay, and finding a groomsman. Severus had tried to coerce Hermione into having a wizarding ceremony, but she wouldn't budge. She wanted her father to walk her down the aisle and her mother to be sitting in the front row. If they had proceeded with a wizarding ceremony her parents couldn't be there. Since his parents were both dead he really couldn't go much further with his argument.

Severus had been quietly sceptical that Hermione would be able to pull their wedding off in a month and a half, but she did. To simplify things, she only had a maid of honour, balancing out his best man. Apparently, most girls had places, dresses, and practically everything for their weddings planned out by the age of twelve. The last, and in Severus' opinion, the most important object they needed to obtain was the male. It was rather lucky that Hermione had been one of those little girls. She had always been a bookworm, but in those rare moments where she showed her 'girlyness', she went full out. Hermione had used the excuse that she had thought about these things during a sleepover one summer, and had fallen in love with her plans so much that little needed to be changed.

Hermione had figured out how to have their wedding overlooking the White Cliffs of Dover as well as convincing her preacher to wed them. It was an easy location for witches and wizards to locate, but Muggles had to drive quite a distance to attend. Severus figured, since they were going for a small wedding, only those that really cherished Hermione would drive such a distance to attend.

The wedding went perfectly, the day was clear, and there was a nice breeze coming from the seas below. Severus had asked Kingsley to be his best man and Ginny Weasley was Hermione's maid of honour. She had her wish, her father walked her down the aisle, but all he could do was stare at Hermione as she came toward him. Never had he imagined her looking so magnificent, and beautiful, and any other word he could come up with in that moment; which weren't many.

Quick and easy. That's all he wanted out of a wedding and that was what his lovely wife had managed to do. The reception was short, located in a tent a few feet away from the wedding gazebo. After all the obligatory duties the two needed to complete, they took their leave via a portkey. Their honeymoon in Finland was his idea and it took them little time to consummate the marriage.

XXX

The couple had been in Helsinki for a little over two weeks already with another week left to enjoy the city and relax. Their hotel was located in the heart of the city, walking distance to anything they would need, or want to do. The room had been everything Severus asked for. The king size bed was very comfortable, topped with brown and tan, interlaced diamonds; at the end of the bed was a small couch cramped with pillows. A dresser with a mirror was set opposite the bed, with a television on top to the right. The bathroom was huge, with two sinks, toilet, a steam shower stall, and a Jacuzzi. The black curtains, held back by a rope and tassel, gave the room a dark feel. The decor was a tad stuffy but they managed.

Hermione had questioned the concierge extensively, about all the museums and historical buildings that were located within the city. In fact, the desk in their suite had been covered with her pamphlets and information booklets that the top of the desk could not be seen. Hermione had taken over the honeymoon, planned out their first week, which was packed with museum visits and tours of the city. Severus was sure there was no stone they had not trampled over. Since his youth, Helsinki had been one of the destinations he had wanted to visit and since they were going on a honeymoon, he decided to pick a place that suited his wants. There were quite a few fresh potion ingredients native to Finland that he could acquire on this trip. He had told Hermione to leave two days open specifically for ingredient procurement; the rest she could do with what she wanted.

The second week had been less hectic; they spent more time in the hotel room, and the times they went out, they simply enjoyed the scenery and relaxed a little more. Severus preferred melding into society to walking around staring at everything, as if showing everyone he was a tourist. Low key was definitely his priority. Hermione on the other hand had no problem with toting around her large camera and taking hundreds of pictures.

At one point they used the free service of a citysherpa, a native Helsinkian who showed them around the city. Their guide was a tall, dirty-blonde, twenty-five year old named Juhani. He was a fantastic guide, who showed them restaurants off the beaten path, historical buildings no one knew about, and local shops. Severus was not fond of Juhani because at several points in the tour he flirted with Hermione. He was a history major at the local university and Hermione's eyes lit up when he told her. Of course, the arse took advantage of her delight and talked her up, practically ignoring him. She simply laughed and shrugged him off, but it was annoying nonetheless. Severus wanted to maim the boy when he caught Juhani's baby blue eyes continually checking his wife out, especially her breasts. Hermione had to stop him a few times from pulling out his wand and hexing the poor man. They were on their honeymoon and they made no secret of that fact.

He was a Muggle, they found out later, after he introduced them to his cousin Nea, who happened to be a witch. The two looked almost identical, except that Nea had light blonde hair. The following day, she showed them around the wizarding section of the city. Flirting must have run in the family because Nea was even more obvious about her flirting than her cousin. Severus was shocked out of his mind when Nea slapped his ass after a crude joke. He looked towards Hermione who didn't seem to care one bit about it. Would she care if he flirted back? He decided not to experiment because he enjoyed sex every night and didn't want it to cease because of a moment of stupidity.

They had not known there was even a wizarding section, since they had not run across a witch, or wizard, to tell them otherwise. Nea had been in contact with them since the day she showed them around. The blonde haired witch was very outgoing and even invited them to dinner at her place. She fixed them local dishes that they both enjoyed immensely. One evening while they were dinning together, completely enjoying the meal, Hermione asked what they were having. Nea quietly said something in Finnish and looked shyly down. Severus had heard what she muttered and smirked knowingly. It was rather comical to see Hermione try to hold back spitting the meat out of her mouth when she was told it was moose. She would never live it down.

Nea and Hermione had become quick friends, doing womanly things like shopping; that is when Nea hadn't been hitting on Severus. This left him time to himself. He didn't mind the free time, in fact, it was quite nice being able to stay as long as he wanted in different book stores and take his time perusing the apothecary.

XXX

It wasn't long into the honeymoon, that Hermione broached the subject of his house in Spinner's End. Her Gryffindor subtlety or lack thereof, was an annoyance that Severus could have done without. Severus was so tired of her little comments.

It started with comments about the location:

"The stench from that river is appalling; I suppose if you insist on staying there I'll just have to tend to a rather large floral garden to add at least some appeal to the air. I'll expect your help in tending to the roses, of course."

Then turned inward:

After dinner one evening at Nea's home she commented about his taste in decor. "You are an absolutely horrible interior designer, Severus. Either we move or I torch the place and start over."

"Severus, you can never do dark colours in a small space. If you insist on staying there, don't complain when the walls are done in gold and airy neutrals."

Leading to discussions of the non-existent library:

"Honestly, Severus, bookshelves where doors should be kept? Whatever will we do when I want to expand my personal library if we don't even have enough room for yours?" she queried, as they were leaving a large public wizarding library.

This directed a one-sided conversation about the office and sitting room:

"I suppose we can just share an office." She gave a dramatic sigh before continuing, "Come to think of it, to conserve space, we can just share a desk. You wouldn't mind emptying out a few drawers for me, would you?" Clearly his sneer wasn't enough to stop her from continuing.

"No, the sitting room isn't large enough for the leather couch I wanted. It'll have to go. A loveseat will fit much more nicely." Before he could even finish his comment on how he wouldn't fit on a loveseat, she interrupted, "Severus, I don't care if your feet will hang off the end; that is the way it has to be."

Of course, her comments wouldn't have been complete without a few minor gabs along the way:

"If we ever had kids, it really wouldn't be a safe house for them to grow up in."

And when he queried whether she would ever deem to cease talking, she grinned and said, "Nonsense, you adore my prattle. And there's one bright side of our tiny home! At least you'll be able to hear me talking no matter which room you're in!"

Her most convincing argument came one evening after they spent a romantic dinner in a quaint little restaurant that Nea recommended. They had just gotten back into the room, when Severus gracefully lowered his tired body onto the couch, stretching his feet out in front of him, crossing them at his ankles. He leaned his elbows back on the bed and closed his eyes, turning his head to the ceiling. The touch of her hand on his cheek made him open his eyes. Hermione was standing over his outstretched legs, looking down at him with such love in her eyes; all he could do was stare at her.

"I love you, Severus Snape," Hermione whispered, as she traced his jaw with her hand.

He pulled his legs up so she could sit in his lap. Once she was comfortable, she pulled his head to her and pressed her full lips to his in a passionate kiss. Hermione groaned as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, deepening the kiss. During their long, drawn out kisses she had loosened his tie and started to unbutton his shirt. He gasped into her mouth when she ran her cool hands up and down his chest, making him even harder in his want for her.

Severus pulled her tucked-in shirt from her skirt and ran his hands up her sides, cupping her full breasts, savouring the moan he brought out of her. His buckle was unclasped and pants unbuttoned before he knew it. Hermione had shifted lower, trailing kisses down his chest, all the while rubbing her hand up and down his hardened length. He spread his legs wider and looked down as her tongue darted out of her mouth and swirled around his head.

"Yesssss," he hissed, as she sucked his tip lightly, all the while sliding her hands around the rest of his shaft. She bobbed up and down, taking him deeper into her mouth each time. Her tongue continued to caress him and he couldn't help but give a deep groan, his head thrown back in ecstasy, when she started to caress his balls with her other hand. He was quickly coming to climaxing, when she pulled back and looked up at him. His head whipped downward, eyes wide in silent question.

"Can we please get a new house?" she asked sweetly, licking her lips, making him want to moan.

"Anything," he panted, "anything. Just get back to what you were doing, woman! I'm almost there!" He practically yelled as he grabbed her hair and pushed her closer to his throbbing cock.

She grinned and resumed her duty, speeding up, bringing him to the brink. His hands were bunched in her hair as he climaxed emitting a satisfied groan as he spent himself in her mouth. When he was finished, she slipped his deflated cock out of her mouth and smiled up at him, "Should we design our own house, or should we just buy one and do what we want with it?"

His hands dropped to his side and his mouth fell open, "Fuck."

A/N

I really apologize for the long space between chapters. A lot has happened lately in life and I was honestly too tired to even post a new chapter. I have the next three chapters completed so the time between postings will be shortened. If you are still reading the story please let me know what you think. I really enjoy getting those little notices in my inbox.