DISCLAIMER: J.K. Rowling owns most of the characters and settings here—I own the rest.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story is most DEFINITELY for adults. See Chapter 1 for an explanation and synopsis of the Story So Far.
DATE WITH AN EXECUTIONER
Chapter 3 – Further Secrets Uncloaked
I was in a forest, running. Sweat poured down my body. I was wearing only a thin nightdress, and I was barefoot. I knew that no matter what, I had to keep running, or they would get me. I heard the pounding of heavy footsteps behind me. I tried to run faster, but I couldn't—I felt as if I were encased in some sort of substance that restricted my movement. My feet slowed and I felt hands grabbing me from behind, and a horrible, familiar voice, saying "Well, aren't you a treat." I was pushed to the ground, and then there was a dark figure in front of me and…
"Rowan! Please wake up, my love." I heard Severus' voice. Opening my eyes blearily and looking around, though, I didn't see anyone in the room. His voice sounded again, "Rowan! I am at the bloody door. Get up and let me in, would you?" Oh. He was sending a thought to me. I pushed the heavy blankets onto the floor, swung my legs over the side of the couch, and slowly stood up. Ugh. I felt horrible. And my robes were stuck to me with still-moist sweat. And—the pendant Severus had given me on the first weekend that we met, the one that I had given back to him, hung around my neck. That explained how he was sending the thoughts so clearly, as he'd charmed it to augment his Legilimency powers. I moved slowly toward the front door as if I were weighted down with sandbags.
"Are you all right?" asked Severus.
I reached for the pendant and thought, "Yes, I'm sorry…I had a difficult time waking up. I'll be right there." I looked down at my left hand. He had returned my handfasting ring to my finger as well. I was too tired to even be annoyed about it, considering that I had planned to wear them on my trip back to Massachusetts, anyway.
I opened the door to a blast of cold air, which felt very welcome. Severus stood there, in his cloak and scarf (looking rather dashing, my traitorous mind added), a stack of brown-paper-wrapped parcels floating in the air next to him.
"Rowan, I took the liberty of returning your jewelry to you while you slept. I felt that it would not offend you. I also spelled the door so that no one would be able to enter without your consent," he began.
"Thank you, Severus," I said, as I stood aside to let him in. He opened the closet door and hung his cloak and scarf inside it, next to my cloak. He scowled as he surveyed the rest of the closet's contents—stacks upon stacks of boxes. I had magickally expanded the closet to contain all of my belongings from my Diagon Alley apartment, save one box of clothes and one of bedding.
"You have unpacked nothing, have you?" he said, sounding rather gloomy. "Is it the same upstairs, as well?"
"Well, it is. Most of the rooms are empty. I haven't been spending much time here, and when I do, I'm rarely awake," I said.
He sighed. "We shall keep this house, but I must urge you to stay with me at the school in the evenings, once you return from Massachusetts."
"We'll see about that," I said, as I walked back into the living room. Severus and the parcels followed behind. After making sure the parcels safely landed, he snapped his fingers and the two blankets disappeared from the couch. Another snap produced two new blankets. He then waved his wand in front of me and replaced my disheveled robes with warm nightwear. The last thing he did was to conjure a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a plate with some small sandwiches and fruit on it. This miniature feast sat on the table, which he moved closer to the couch.
"Much better," he said, as he seated himself on the couch and poured glasses of wine for both of us with a flick of his wand. I plucked one of the glasses out of the air and sat next to him.
"Take one of these sandwiches as well. You don't look as if you've been eating much lately," he said. I did, and for a while, we sat in companionable silence as we once had, drinking our wine and eating a bit of the food. The fire roared away in front of us, removing any trace of a chill from the room. I could almost imagine that the last few months had been a bad dream.
"Now. While I was out, I first visited the store. I informed Morgaine that you would be out of town for some time; she informed me that you had already told her that," he began, as if he were lecturing one of his students—a particularly slow one.
I didn't care for his insinuations. "Severus, I know a little something about retail management," I said. "We've only just begun talking again. Must you instantly manage my life?"
"I was merely trying to make things easier for you, my love," he said, not sounding contrite in the least.
"Sorry. Go on." I decided not to start any arguments. "You spoke to Morgaine?" I prompted.
"Yes. And I also spoke to that odd boy you hired, Ruthven, is that his name? Rowan, where on Earth did you find him? He looks like a vampire!"
I stifled a smile. Ruthven actually looked somewhat like a younger version of Severus, with a slightly smaller nose. When he first came and applied for the job, I had wondered about his possible origins myself, and still did. He was a fine worker, but would only work nights. He hadn't asked me for any pints of blood yet, though, and I had other things to worry about in the meantime. "Um. No comment," I said, suddenly finding the pockets of the thick, purple woolen robe that Severus had conjured for me very interesting.
"What do you mean by that, Rowan?" he asked, in his most dangerous voice. He then stood up and loomed over me.
I was overtaken by a fit of completely inappropriate giggling. "Er. Nothing. So, what did Ruthven have to say?"
"You will not change the subject, Rowan!" It was clear he wasn't going to give up. I, unfortunately, had graduated on to full-blown laughter after he decided to hold his robes in that way he often did that made him look a lot like a bat. (I had never had the chutzpah to tell him that, though, especially because I found it to be rather sexy). I had to sit down my wine glass for fear that I'd spill its contents all over the room.
Severus sighed, and sat back down. "I knew that we'd eventually have to discuss this," he began.
"Should I get some garlic out of the kitchen first?" I managed, practically choking it out. Not that I had any food in there, but he didn't know that. Or perhaps he did know, as he had conjured sandwiches from somewhere without even consulting me.
"I should say not; I'm not fond of it, really. And do attempt to contain your laughter," he continued, as that last sentence prompted a fresh round of giggles from me.
"Are you quite finished," he said, once I finally stopped laughing.
"Yes, I'm sorry, Severus," I said.
"You are most certainly not sorry. I know exactly what you were thinking. I have heard all of the rumors before. I am neither a magickal creature, nor am I undead. I am a wizard, and very much a man—you should know that by now."
"And it's not like you're trying to stop those rumors by wearing black all of the time, avoiding the sun, and living in a dungeon," I added.
"Well. You certainly didn't seem to mind about any of that when I took you to bed, and when you bound your life to mine," he said, pulling me close.
"No, you were exactly what I wanted, Severus," and I looked down, wishing I hadn't made that statement in the past tense.
"Do you know, I have not taken any sort of pleasure since—since that night, Rowan," he went on. "Not with myself, and certainly not elsewhere. It's been unbearable," he said, staring at me with those dark eyes.
I couldn't say anything. I could not. I was transfixed by him.
He smoothed his hand over my hair and kissed my neck, sighing as he did so. "I have missed you so much. Let me make love to you, Rowan. I will not hurt you." His hands slid down over my robe-covered back and down around my bottom. "I ache for you," he groaned. "I need you. I haven't been able to live without you." His mouth slid up and met mine, and he gave another long groan as he kissed me deeply. My mind and soul were filled with nothing but his essence, and it felt so good, so right. Before I knew it we were entwined on the couch, my robe loosened, his hands under my nightshirt. "Let me, my love, let me make you mine again. Let me give you pleasure, let me make you come," he murmured. His hand slid down and I felt one finger gently teasing at my entrance. "I can feel it, I know you want me as well," he said, as my wetness coursed over his finger. He slowly massaged there, teasing, tantalizing.
"Yes, oh, you're so good, oh I love you, yes, please…make love to me," I sighed. He paused for a moment and withdrew himself from the embrace to remove his robe, his boots and his black vest. I pulled him down before he could finish, yanking at the buttons on his white, high-collared shirt. "You're so magnificent, so incredible," I whispered, as he threw the shirt onto the floor. He let his eyes flutter shut and concentrated, and then snapped his fingers, and he was naked, his huge prick jutting out from his thin, lithe body.
With a growl, he lunged at me, tearing the nightshirt off me, and within seconds, his entire length was buried inside me. I moaned and writhed up against him, wanting every inch of him, as he gasped for breath and began thrusting. I knew neither of us would last long. Within a few short minutes, I convulsed around him, once, twice, a third time. He moaned and I felt his entire body tense and shudder, as he growled in a low voice, "Rowan, I can't hold back any longer, I'm going to fill you up with it…." and he gripped me with his beautiful long fingers as I felt his come shoot into me, pulse after pulse…
I felt an explosion behind my eyes and I climaxed around him, and I couldn't help myself, I screamed, at the top of my lungs. "Oh Gods, oh Gods, yes, oh yes, oh…LUCIUS!"
It took me a minute to realize why Severus was looking at me like that, his black eyes flashing with horrified anger.
Well, shit.
"THOSE FUCKING BASTARDS! I'M GOING TO KILL THEM!" howled Severus.
I guess that Malfoy really had been there that night.
I've never seen a romantic mood vanish so quickly in my life.