Brewing Perfection

written by: albe-chan

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, kinky sex and mild BDSM themes, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily spent the next month pulling sixteen hour days, most of which she spent doing the most tedious, boring work she reckoned a potioneer could be subjected to. Taking a test pool of mice and making sure they all suffered the ailment their potion was designed to combat, which made part of her feel like a monster, then testing their potion on them at various doses and making rigid, clinical notes on the effects.

Blaise had seemed unaffected when half of their mice died from their ailments after the first night. Lily cried, albeit in the privacy of the loo, and told herself sternly to stop being a bleeding heart, because they were mice, and she was making sure that, even though they died, someone else in future might not. But her boss, being a keen eyed, and exceptionally observant wizard, seemed to know she'd been affected by the apparent failure. "I told you this is the hardest part. But it will get better once we get everything fine tuned, I promise," he said softly when she'd returned from her little crying jag, and Lily swallowed nodding. And he was right.

By the end of March, they had a mostly successful trial, and Lily felt a great deal of elation. Blaise, however, seemed hungry to tackle the next project, even as their potion went for Ministry approved, and altogether secret, testing to see if it could be marketed, and get the necessary health regulations met. He explained it would be at least another six weeks before they would know anything for sure, but he expected their potion would pass all the testing well, and Lily sent off her notes with their test flask, praying he would be right about that too.

Lily had just gotten back from the Ministry on the thirtieth of the month, after they'd done the last of the necessary paperwork and handed everything of importance over, with Blaise, to his office. "I hope you're not going to be upset, Lily," he said, moving to sit behind his desk and waving her into the chair across the mahogany top. Lily sat back comfortably, crossing her legs, still feeling tense and anxious about what felt like her baby being pored over and tested by Ministry Potions Officials.

"Upset about what?" she asked.

"You won't be spending the Easter holiday with your family," Blaise said, and Lily's brow furrowed. "We're going to Athens. I've been trying, for longer than I'd like to admit, to find out a way to make my first ever potion better, and the Ancient Greeks were top notch in lust potions long before anyone thought to make a quick Galleon off them over here." Lily wondered what could possibly make Blaise's first fully qualified, top-selling potion, Amatoriis, better. It was, as Lily had learned almost first hand, a popular potion for young people who were looking to have a good time and didn't much care who with. It mimicked the feelings of lust and arousal in a person, and although it had been developed, initially, for older couples to bring the spice back to their relationships, according to interviews Blaise had done, it turned out to appeal to mostly a younger audience. And it could sometimes lead a young witch or wizard, if they had a little too much, to do things they wouldn't normally, like sleep with total strangers.

"Oh," Lily said, and hesitated, then asked Blaise what she was wondering anyway. "How do you think Amatoriis could be better?" she asked curiously. "It's pretty popular as is."

Blaise chuckled, leaning back in his chair and lifting a brow at her. "Are you a fan of that particular idea of mine, Lily?" he asked teasingly, and she blushed. She'd noticed, that ever since he'd kissed her, Blaise seemed to ask questions like that more and more frequently. Questions that made her uncomfortably aware of her sexuality, despite how much she tried to ignore it, and that skated the line between appropriate and slap-worthy.

"No," she said firmly. "I tried it once, but it's not for me," she said easily. Both of Blaise's brows lifted at that, but Lily pushed through her admission with determination. "I just don't know what could make it more appealing to the masses."

Blaise shrugged. "I initially wanted it to be the sort of potion that required a second participant. So that whoever was taking it would be taking a dose that would compliment and react with the potion taken by the other party, and would only work if both halves of the potion were taken to be used together." Lily felt her mouth drop open. Because that sounded… Well it sounded fucking brilliant, but Lily had no idea how that would even be remotely plausible. How two potions could react together without actually mixing, and while ingested by two different people. It was a helluva good idea, though. And it revved up her own curiosity. "You seem intrigued," Blaise finally said, smirking a tiny bit.

"I am," she said, sitting back, turning the problem over in her mind. "That's a damn good idea. It would narrow your market, certainly, because it would be couples who'd buy it probably, in that case, not horny teenagers who just want to get laid, but I think it's a wonderful concept. And it's never been done before, right? Two halves of one potion that only work together, but separately at the same time?" She shook her head at the implications of that. "It would literally redefine Potion making."

"You see why it's been bothering me, then," Blaise said, smirking wider. "So we'll go to Athens, for a couple weeks I suppose, and see if the Ancient Greeks have the key. I saw some very promising, newly discovered records a couple years back, and I want to find out if anything more has been unearthed with them. Be here and ready to depart first thing tomorrow, Lily. Seven thirty."

Lily nodded, making a mental note to do laundry and pack. "Okay," she said, getting up.

"You're not dismissed yet," he said firmly, even as she made to turn away from his desk, and Lily paused, looking back, unable to help but feel unbearably turned on like any other time Blaise's tone hinted at command. It was the most bizarre thing, but when he spoke to her like that, even though part of her felt like telling him to kiss her ass, a larger, stronger part of her couldn't help but want to do as he said. Do whatever it took to please him. She tried not to examine those feelings too closely, because they were all tied up with her attraction and longing for Blaise, and that only made her feel desperate for him. She watched him get up from his chair, a picture of masculine grace, and her hazel eyes were drawn to the strength and power that emanated from him, as well as the magnetic lure of him strictly as a man, as he came around the desk toward her. "We'll be staying at my personal residence just outside Athens, which will require, should you need to enter without my direct assistance, a blood sacrifice to pass through my security wards."

Lily looked up at him. "A blood sacrifice?" she asked, wondering why Blaise would need such a barbaric type of security ward.

"The side effects of buying a structure and grounds that are several hundred years old. The enchantments for the grounds are a little old fashioned, but too effective to remove," Blaise said with a light shrug.

"So you need my blood?" she asked.

"A small sample will be required, yes. Just as a precaution, of course. I don't foresee a time when you should need to enter without me present."

"Okay," Lily said easily. "Do you want it now?" she asked after a brief pause.

Blaise's mouth flickered with amusement for a beat. "Certainly, if you're amenable." Lily shrugged, and only flinched a little when Blaise twirled his wand and a silver dagger dropped into his left palm. He put his wand away and grasped the knife, reaching for her own right hand. Lily winced, looking away, never having liked the sight of her own blood leaving her, and braced herself. She felt a tiny prick on her fingertip, and Blaise applied gentle pressure to the digit, capturing a few drops of her blood in a tiny crystal vial he'd taken from his vest pocket.

The redhead was afraid to peek until it was over, but her eyes flew open in the next second, because Blaise had licked her fingertip to stem the blood flow and then wrapped a smooth little bandage around it with his wand. "You don't like the sight of blood?" he teased. Lily forced a shrug, trying to pretend she wasn't irrationally aroused by having his tongue touch her, even just her fingertip, even though she was pretty sure her knickers were wet, and her nipples were achingly hard.

"Not when I'm the one bleeding," she said thickly, her eyes meeting his after watching his full, sensual mouth unfurling into a smile.

"Such delicate sensibilities," he said teasingly, voice husky, and kissed the corner of her mouth lightly, making her lips tingle and her arousal flash painfully hot. "You're dismissed now, Miss Potter."

"Goodnight, Blaise," she said, her tone far more inviting than she'd meant, and turned away from him with difficulty, because a large portion of her wanted to stay right there with him, breathing in the smell of him, her body tensed with desire she couldn't act upon.

"Not yet," he said as she Disapparated, and he pushed a hand through his hair. He'd become, thoroughly and entirely, in lust with Lily Potter, despite the fact she was employed as his assistant, and despite the fact he wasn't supposed to want her. She was smart, sexy, and the perfect amount of blushing hesitance. But something was holding her back, and he wanted her to submit to him of her own free will, not because he used his considerable talents of persuasion to have her.

He could barely hold back, though, when she was right there before him, her eyes telling him to have his way with her, her body rigid and unyielding. He'd almost lost control just moments ago, and snogged her silly right there in his office, and not only because she was so bloody tempting. But because she'd been adorable, with her face scrunched up, eyes averted fearfully, when he'd taken the tiniest amount of blood from her. Godric fucking Gryffindor, she was proving to be an enigma, but he couldn't resist trying to peel away all her layers until he found the woman within the smart, sensible witch. And he had a feeling, after long months of waiting and patience, and slow, deliberate steps to seduce her, she was about to come around. And he would take a great deal of pleasure whenever that time came, from Lily Potter. Of that he was all but certain.

Lily owled her brother Albus, and by default, Scorpius as well, about how she'd be going out of town, and she needed them to tell her parents why she would be absent at Sunday dinner. She supposed she could simply owl her parents directly, but she didn't want the inevitable Floo call that would follow. She knew her father would be a grump about Zabini overworking her and depriving her of her family, and her mother would be disappointed and not so subtly wonder if everything was still strictly platonic between her and her employer. Which, when Ginny had asked her last time, only a week and a half ago at the last Sunday dinner Lily went to, the younger redheaded witch had flat out lied about.

Because things between her and Blaise had probably crossed the platonic line, and they were definitely treading the murky realm between breaking the rules and remaining professional. He'd kissed her more than once, though never quite as intensely or deeply as he had when she'd made a tea and solved their problem of adding their herbaceous dittany to their potion, and seemed to touch her more than ever, but never once had anything directly crossed the line. Much to her frustration.

She could admit freely to herself she wanted more from Blaise, much more, and yet she wasn't sure exactly how to go about letting that be known. She'd never had the confidence dating required, and even though she wasn't physically a virgin, she was practically inexperienced when it came to the male of the species. And thus far, Lily had merely been reacting to the gradual changes Blaise let evolve in their relationship. She'd never been the instigator, never said really a singular flirtatious thing, at least intentionally. And Lily, because she had no clue, didn't want to do the wrong thing and ruin whatever tentative balance they had for the time being, and go back to cool indifference from her boss.

The redhead sighed, unable to stop thinking about her predicament, then started the boring, mindless task of laundry and packing, and had just finished when her brother's response arrived in the form of a Floo call. "Lily," Albus hissed from her fireplace, just as she'd put the last of her clothes, folded, into her laundry basket to put away. Her bag was sitting, packed and ready to go, on the sofa, and she was looking forward to a long hot shower and bed, feeling exhausted.

"Hi, Al," she said, moving to sit down before the fire.

"Are you daft?" Albus asked, sounding grouchy, even though he was whispering.

"Not that I know of," she said easily. "Are you going to tell Mum and Dad I won't be-?"

"I don't bloody want to," Albus said petulantly. Lily frowned. "Come on, Lily. Every time I tell them you're skiving to go gallivanting off wherever with Zabini, I get the lecture you should have. About how you should protect your reputation more, and how it looks awful if you and Zabini are travelling all over the place together, doing Merlin knows what, blah blah blah." Green eyes rolled. "It's annoying."

"You mean you have to listen to Scorpius bitch about it?" Lily asked pointedly, and Albus sighed. "What's his deal?" she snapped, feeling grumpy someone she'd done more than a few favours for was so against what she saw as a perfectly fine relationship, working or otherwise, with Blaise.

"Well he's been convinced since Dad mentioned, way back in like September or whatever, right after we found out you got picked to be Zabini's assistant, Zabini might've had a thing for Mum back in the day, based on something he'd heard in school or something, that since obviously he's not going to get Mum, he'd settle for you." Lily's brows shot up, because that was kind of a slap in the face. That she'd be a suitable replacement, some two and a half decades later, for her own mother. How rude! "And, because you're like his little sister, he's convinced he has to watch out for you."

"No one needs to watch out for me," Lily snapped defensively, "because I'm a grown up, whether or fucking not I'm someone's little sister!"

Albus snorted. "Yeah right, honey. You're not a grown up just yet, Lils. Even if you're grown." Lily glared. "And Scor's just paranoid, because apparently his dad and Zabini are old friends, went to school together and whatnot, and Scor's pretty positive Zabini's almost as much of a womanizer as his old man." Albus smirked, because Lily couldn't contain the scowl of jealousy at that thought, even though Lily knew Blaise had slept with dozens of other witches before she was even born probably, and she had no claim on him whatsoever. It still rankled. "Anyway, he's probably not wrong, but everyone's just hoping you're smart enough not to fall for his charms."

Lily frowned, because she was probably the smartest one in her family, and she'd fall for whatever bloody charms she liked, whether anyone approved or not! "Still," Lily snapped, folding her arms furiously, feeling ganged up on for a wrong she hadn't even committed yet. "Tell Scorpius to sod off and mind his own fucking business."

Albus laughed. "You keep making it our business, Lils, by asking us to tell Mum and Dad you're skiving off family time. Merlin, honey, grow a backbone and just tell them yourself, and don't let them guilt you into not going off wherever with your boss." Albus grinned even as she stuck her tongue out at him. "And hey, maybe if you grew a backbone, you'd finally get good and laid like I've been telling you you need to do someday. Being a thirty year old virgin is looking like your future, Lils, and it's not a good look."

"Fuck you, Albus," she snapped, even as he disconnected from the call, his head disappearing from her fire. But Lily couldn't deny, that wasn't a half bad idea. She'd never been very brave, but maybe if she was a little braver, and maybe a little bolder, too, Blaise would realize she was interested in a more than professional relationship, even if it was against the rules. Even if it was bad. She'd been good most of her life, except that one time, and she was sick of always wanting and never knowing how to get. Maybe she should grow a backbone.

She went to take her shower, and glanced at her reflection in the mirror on the back of her bathroom door once she'd undressed. She'd started, mostly, eating better, and was glad to see her little belly was shrinking, even if her butt wasn't just yet, but then Lily frowned, because she couldn't remember the last time she'd bothered to get a Magical Painless Wax, and the red gold curls between her thighs needed some taming for sure. So Lily took a few minutes to use a few well placed Depilatory Charms on herself, not because she expected anyone, or a specific someone rather, to see her naked, just in case he did, she'd look alright. Or well manicured at least.

Not that she planned to sleep with Blaise, or anyone else, in the immediate future. She shook her head as she at last went to shower, because despite her assertions to herself, she still imagined Blaise's hands sliding all over her, instead of her own. And when she went to bed that night, she still dreamed of the dark eyed wizard bringing every single one of her most repressed fantasies to life, leaving her panting and halfway to what promised to be a face-melting orgasm when she woke. She thought about the vaguely remembered bits of her dream all morning as the sun rose and her alarm finally went off.

By the time Lily finally met up with Blaise, at seven twenty five, because she simply couldn't help being perpetually five minutes early, she was grumpy from being up too early and not enough sleep and the denial of what had seemed like a damn good orgasm her dream-self couldn't even comprehend. "Always early," Blaise murmured after he bid her to enter his office. He was writing a letter, and Lily was forcibly reminded of her first day, all those long months ago, when she'd been nervous enough to puke and excited enough to implode. Now she just wanted to get to Athens to sink her frustrations into something. "If I ask you to be here at precisely seven thirty five next time, does that mean you'll show up at seven thirty, as intended?"

Lily licked her lips, because he was almost, almost, talking in that stern, commanding and reprimanding voice that did funny things to her arousal and sanity. "Probably," she said, "but now that you've mentioned it, I'd probably still make it seven twenty five to spite you."

Blaise smirked, then his dark eyes flicked up to meet her gaze. "Naughty," he said roughly, and she felt her knees almost buckle, because that word should be banned from his vocabulary, unless he was going to say it, and some choice others, until she creamed her panties. It made her almost wriggle with desire it sounded so fucking good. "Are you ready to go?" Blaise asked, finishing his letter, but instead of posting it, he merely put it into a desk drawer, locked the drawer, and got up from his desk.

"Yes," Lily said huskily, because she was ready to go in more ways than one, and Blaise's eyes roved over her speculatively. She shifted a tiny bit in her navy leggings and a baggy t-shirt dress that was sleeveless, because it would probably be warm in Athens, and then Blaise looked her in the eye again.

"Very well." He reached for her hand so he could Side Along her to his Grecian home away from home, and just before she turned away into thin air, Lily felt a sharp jolt of something electric and almost painful shoot through her at the contact. Like a lightning strike to her system, a spark of something arcing between her and Blaise the second they touched. But when she appeared, outside the gates to what, beyond, looked like a sizeable villa with immaculate grounds, the feeling had faded, leaving her wondering if Blaise had felt it too, or if she was just losing it.

Blaise released her hand to pull the little phial of her blood from inside the breast pocket on his well tailored robes, allowing the contents to drip out and onto the aged metal gates. Her blood seemed to be absorbed by some kind of magical force, and Lily felt the hairs on her arms prickle, even as Blaise tapped the gates with his wand to open them and she passed through.

The redheaded witch couldn't help but be impressed as they walked up the long, scenic drive toward the villa, and as they approached the front door, she spotted a little stooped woman with greying dark hair, standing with a man who was entirely bald, only slightly less stooped, and sporting an impressive silver moustache. "Those are the caretakers for my property and house," Blaise said as the woman waved and he smirked, lifting a hand in acknowledgment as they got to the foot of the grand stone staircase that lead to the front door. "Milos and Aspasia. Don't worry, we probably won't see them. They tend to leave me to my own devices for the most part whenever I'm here."

He pointedly didn't add that any time he did visit his little slice of paradise outside Athens, he usually had a woman in tow whom he intended to spend a weekend with, being a debauched son of a bitch and using the woman for his own pleasures before dropping her on the last morning.

Lily didn't ask, even though she was dying to know, just how often he happened to drop by this bloody palace he just happened to own. She rented a tiny, if pretty decent otherwise, flat, and paid out the nose for it considering she only really slept there lately, and Blaise Zabini had Merlin only knew how many properties, all over Europe, apparently.

"This place is gorgeous," she said honestly, even if she was a little intimidated, and definitely rethinking bringing her tatty old pyjamas to wear in a place like Blaise's grand Greek villa.

"Thank you. It looked like absolute shit when I bought it, and it's taken a disgusting amount of money and a long time to bring up to scratch." Lily's brows lifted, because Blaise spoke with pride, and she marvelled that a man as brilliant as him could also buy a crappy looking relic and restore it to the glory Lily was laying eyes on, just for kicks. "Come, I'll take you on the tour," he said as they reached the front door.

"Hello, Mister Zabini. I trust you will be finding everything in proper order," the man said in stiff English. The woman smiled at Lily, who smiled tentatively back.

"Thank you, Milos," Balise said, and shook the man's hand respectfully, as he always did.

"Hello," the woman said in thickly accented English, kissing both Blaise's cheeks as he leaned down to receive them, then she looked at Lily. "Good one, this."

"Thank you, Aspasia," Blaise said, a tad dismissively, and Lily looked on, still bemused, wondering what was going on and what the little old Greek lady had meant. "Come," he said simply to Lily, one hand moving to her lower back to guide her inside his estate. The redhead heard the woman, Aspasia, say something to her husband in Greek, but if he replied, or what she said, Lily wasn't sure, because Blaise drew her forward, into a massive entrance hall, with a grand staircase. "If you'd like to unpack before the tour, I can show you to your rooms," Blaise said, the perfect host, and Lily almost laughed, because she'd probably get lost more than once.

"Sure," Lily said, and they moved toward the stairs, going up the first flight, then taking the flight that lead west, up to the second floor, and then down a long, straight corridor to the last door on the right. He opened the door into a little sitting area, with double doors across from the doorway they stood in that had swung open, revealing a massive bed, decorated all in white and soft silvery grey, and Lily felt herself let out a sigh of relief there was no chance she'd be getting her period, as she'd already gotten it out of the way a couple days ago.

"I'll leave you to it," Blaise said, and Lily almost jumped, because he was quite close, and spoke soft and seductive against her ear. But he left her to her unpacking, and Lily moved into the room, the door shutting softly behind her, and moved instantly to flop on the bed. It was soft, and comfortable, and pretty much ginormous, and she couldn't wait to sleep in it. But she was supposed to be unpacking, so she got up after a few moments, and began unpacking her little bag, resizing all her clothing after she'd shrunk them to fit in her bag and putting it all away in a little chest of drawers that looked antique, her perfume going on top, and the matching wardrobe.

She decided, after she'd finished her unpacking, to check out the ensuite and drop her toiletries bag in it, and gasped, because it was proportionately grand, like the rest of the villa, and bigger than half her flat at home. "Holy Merlin's testicles," she whispered, because it was all smooth white marble, a massive tub with jets and a dozen taps in the center of the room, and a shower stall that looked big enough for three people, let alone one, in the corner across from the double sinks. All in all, it was bloody fucking gorgeous, and with the potted palms that brought a hint of tropical greenery to the room, Lily wasn't sure she'd ever leave this place willingly. But she could take a soak in that swimming pool of a tub later. Right now she should find Blaise and figure out what they would be doing that day. If she knew him, he'd want to get to work immediately after her tour.

She exited her rooms through the little sitting room, wondering where her boss could be, and glanced into a room that was open across from hers. It was a larger sitting room than even her own, with masculine earth tones, and beyond, Lily could see what she presumed was the master bedroom. Her face betrayed a blush, because she definitely felt like she was snooping, but she wondered if maybe Blaise was unpacking as well.

"Hello?" she said softly, poking her head into the bedroom. It was deserted. She was about to withdraw her head, feeling silly, and leave, when she noticed two things simultaneously. The top drawer of the bureau wasn't completely closed and she could faintly hear the sound of a shower running from what she presumed was the bathroom door. Lily's whole face went bright red, even as she told herself it was a terrible, not amazing, idea to sneak a peek at her boss, possibly naked and showering, because that was creepy, and illegal.

She turned tail and fled out of the room, feeling embarrassed and horny in equal measure, panting hard when she finally got back down the stairs and had stumbled into a sitting room, sinking into a plush leather chair. Some measure of time later, she wasn't sure, because she couldn't stop trying to picture Blaise naked, or convincing herself it was a bad idea to see if her imagination had done him any justice after all, she heard and smelled Blaise come into the room. He sat down in the chair beside hers, before the empty fireplace. "Have you started your own tour, Lily?" he asked after a moment. Lily couldn't help her slight blush, but strove to shake off her lingering embarrassment that she'd bloody almost spied on her boss naked, or at the very least, seriously entertained the notion.

"No, just waiting," she said, and forced a smile. Lily was pretty sure Blaise saw right through her, because he didn't give any indication he was going to rise to start the proper tour he'd promised her.

"Waiting for what?" he pushed.

Lily looked down, then firmly told herself to grow a damn backbone, because if she didn't make it obvious she wanted him, Blaise might never know. Lily looked back up, and let a slow, real smile spread over her lips. "Honestly?" she drawled. "I'm waiting for today to be over so I can get undressed and take advantage of that huge bathtub in my rooms," she admitted. Blaise blinked, then laughed.

"You might even be the right size to get in some laps," he added, and Lily rolled her eyes. Blaise liked to tease her for being petite, but he wasn't precisely a giant himself at five foot eleven.

"Ha ha," she said dryly. "Hilarious. Because I'm little?" she drawled, even though she smiled a little regardless.

"You say it like you're not," he observed with amusement. Lily pouted exaggeratedly.

"I'm not that little," she said, then chuckled, because he probably thought she was.

"Definitely not that little," he agreed, to her surprise. "You've got plenty of things about you that are far from little, Lily."

"Thank you," she said, smiling a tiny bit, and Blaise finally stood up. She followed suit.

"You're welcome," he said lightly, and took her elbow, steering her toward the wall behind them, lined with windows. "And since this is where you've started the tour, we'll start here. These are the rose gardens, and I'm not exactly sure how many varieties we have, but it's a lot. Milos is a top notch gardener, and he's especially fond of his roses."

Lily listened, for the next half hour, as Blaise talked and they wandered through the villa, and the redhead couldn't help but let her mind wander, just the tiniest bit, and wonder just what she was doing in a place that was worth more money than she'd probably ever see in her whole life, with a wizard who was not only out of her league, but more brilliant than anyone Lily had undoubtedly ever met, except maybe her Aunt Hermione. And even then… For one brief moment, Lily doubted herself, and what the hell she thought she was doing playing at being a guest in a palace with a man she had no business desiring.

But then Blaise stopped walking, and she realized he'd stopped talking halfway down the corridor. "What are you thinking?" he asked suddenly, breaking the heavy silence, and Lily looked up at him, still holding his arm as she'd been their entire tour. She felt that same spark, only less intense, and far deeper, reverberate through her once more as she stared into dark brown eyes.

"I was wondering how I happened to be here," she said, a part truth. Blaise looked at her steadily.

"Because you're the proverbial diamond in the rough, Lily," he said honestly, in the same way he stated his own genius, or the fact the sky was blue. His head tilted a little, and his full mouth hinted at a smirk. "You have no idea, though," he murmured, reading her far too easily.

"I don't think-" Lily began, but then Blaise's hand moved to her hip and pulled her a little closer.

"Precisely," he said. "You don't think, Lily. I think. I know." She could only stare up at him, half afraid to believe him, even as something warm unfurled inside her. "You, sweetheart, are the diamond in the rough, and I am the jeweller who gets to bring out your brilliance." Lily could hardly breathe, because Blaise was still holding her hip intimately, and she wanted nothing more than to kiss him, and she had no clue what to say in response to that.

"Do you really think so?" she finally whispered, because she still didn't really think she was a diamond. Maybe a rare mineral, sure, that she could buy, but to be a diamond meant she was beautiful, and desirable, and those weren't traits she'd really ever assigned herself.

"I know so," he said firmly, and she sucked in a wobbly breath, because he pulled her closer, right up against him, and her hands moved instinctively to brace against his solid chest, even as her lower half couldn't help melting against him.

"Okay," she said at last, because he was still just staring at her. "You're pretty smart, after all, so if you say so, I suppose it must be true," she continued at his silence, her foolish mouth running away from her. "You wouldn't be considered one of the best minds of the century for nothing, right? So I suppose I must be a diamond, even if I'm awfully rough still, but if you think you can bring out whatever you said about brilliance, then you're welcome to try, although I'm not entirely sure-"

She stopped speaking abruptly, because all of a sudden, Blaise was kissing her, and it was hot, and passionate, his lips moving with sure purpose over hers, tongue teasing her mouth open easily, and she couldn't resist the tiny moan as he snogged her senseless, standing there in the middle of the corridor of his Greek villa. His hands were divided between her hip and her jaw, and her own hands had wandered up his chest and over his shoulders, pulling him closer instinctively, her arousal flaring into wildfire, out of control territory.

"Lily," he said roughly, breaking away from her mouth at last, and she wanted to cry with disappointment until she felt his mouth against her neck, kissing her. "I have to know, right now, if you're interested in doing this," he said in a deep voice. She gulped, because he pulled away to look at her.

"I…" she said on a croak, and then cleared her throat, looking down, not able to meet his eyes. "What do you mean by 'this'?" she asked, trying to avoid answering, not wanting to expose herself or be vulnerable to rejection.

"I mean this," he said again, with more authority, and squeezed her hip with the hand that still gripped it possessively. "Whatever the hell this is between us. Whatever you want this to be, Lily."

"Sure," she said, trying to sound blase and like she didn't really care either way.

Blaise narrowed his dark eyes at her when she peeked back up at him, because he hadn't released her, or made any move to continue what they'd started. "No," he said firmly, and she felt herself getting more turned on than his kisses had already made her. Which, after her morning wake up call and her extended, and heated, time with Blaise, was nearing unbearable. "It will be yes, or no. Yes, you want to keep doing this, and more, and you accept that it changes nothing at all between us, except that we'll be much more physically satisfied, should things progress as I expect they could. Or no, you do not."

Lily tried to think rationally. Here it was, the question she'd been half hoping for and half dreading. She had to be honest, and not just with herself, about what she wanted. She had to admit to Blaise that she wanted him. Even though she wasn't at all sure how thing would 'progress as he expected they could'. She'd never done this, and fear had her hesitating. But then she summoned her courage and whispered, in a tiny voice, "Yes."

"Louder," he said firmly, and a painful surge of arousal jolted through her, from her breasts to her aching core.

"Yes," she said clearly, in a voice that didn't waver and sounded confident and sure of itself. Lily almost didn't think it was her for a second, but she couldn't deny it. She wanted. "I want to do this."

XXX