Author's Notes: Look y'all, I cannot be held responsible when fluff pops up. I just can't. I try to squash it, but my romantic little heart wins every time. Also - there was an interesting convo on tumblr about mutual climaxes, but let me tell you, one day you'll meet a person who is so skilled, or who learns your body so well, that you WILL experience it and believe in it, okay?


Despite the numerous self-doubts Severus had harbored since childhood, he always seemed to be able to present with an air of complete confidence. Whether it be teaching his classes, or speaking to a crowd at a convention about his field, he was unfailingly smooth and calculated.

He had been received exceedingly warmly by the organizers of the fifteenth annual Potions Extraordinaire Symposium, as usual. They were incredibly accommodating, providing him with the best room in the Luxembourg Grand Wizarding Resort, and even credited expensive meals to his reservation. Perhaps he had been foolish to resist the Keynote Speaker invitation all of these years; but he felt very strongly that he had chosen the perfect time. Not only were they several years removed from the chaotic, often-gossiped-about life he had lived during the war, but he also had an incredible witch beside him who had been somewhat of a buffer for his introverted persona. Hermione had easily won over every single wizard or witch they came across at the symposium. She hurried to the front row each time they attended a presentation, taking detailed notes and asking the most pertinent questions.

The only problem with her behavior was that she was now on the front row during his own presentation, not taking her eyes off of him for a moment. Even as she noted different points across her parchment, her eyes stayed on him. It was as unnerving as it was encouraging. The worst of it, however, was that she was wearing a form-fitting dress under her robes, and every now and then he would catch a glimpse of the smooth skin of her legs. Severus Snape was not one to be distracted, but Merlin did she make it difficult to focus.

He could have sworn she had heard his thoughts, as a wicked gleam flashed in her honey-brown eyes and she shifted in her seat. Her robes fell open and she crossed her legs slowly, a knowing smirk playing at her lips. He frowned at her as he fought the urge to adjust his suddenly too-tight collar. She was going to pay for that, and the thought made him smile evilly for the briefest of moments, before he delved into his next point.

As he finished his presentation and received uproarious applause, he felt pride blossoming in his chest. It was an unfamiliar notion to him, but as Hermione beamed up at him, standing and clapping enthusiastically, he couldn't help but feel supreme satisfaction.

Though he was not one for displays of affection, when she practically tackled him after he fully descended the stairs to the stage he allowed her to kiss him soundly.

"You were riveting!" she praised him earnestly. It had been a very long time, indeed, since he had seen Hermione looking purely joyful. It warmed him to his core, melting the ice walls that were his internal defenses. The elation he felt, divine though it was, scared him; he had never experienced such an emotion before. He wasn't keen on feeling so disarmed, and yet, how could he reject this high - the applause still ringing in his ears, and this witch in his arms?

"Was it your intent to distract me?" he asked of her in a low voice, as others approached to congratulate him on a job well done.

She pulled back from him and winked. "Only a little."

"I will get you for that, you know. Later." He raised a black brow to underscore his threat.

"I'm counting on it," she replied smartly, and turned to greet the well-wishers.

Severus shook hands and nodded to those who came to compliment him. He answered several questions about his work, careful not to reveal too much before he could properly patent his creations. By the tenth person who had fired off a barrage of questions, he was well and truly vexed. Never had so many approached him before; they had, perhaps, admired his work from afar, but he had never been an approachable wizard. He attributed it to the witch at his side. She made him seem less mean, and it simply would not do. He needed to put his scowl back in place and ward off any more salutations.

He felt Hermione inch closer to him, her body all at once tense. He glanced up to see Henry Grelodden sauntering up to them, an arrogant expression on his face. Severus barely suppressed a growl as he subtly moved his body between Hermione and the dunderhead converging on them. Of course the bastard would be so bold as to approach Severus here, where we was the Keynote Speaker and had just successfully overwhelmed the room with his extensive research, when he could do nothing but suppress his violent urge to rip the man to shreds - with a few hexes and with his bare hands.

"Miraculous findings, Snape. Yes, I'm sure you're bored to death most of the time, and have to seek out bizarre solutions to non-existent Potions problems." His snide taunts rolled of his pompous tongue, and his gaze slid to Hermione before resting back on Severus.

"I find myself astounded at your presence at this symposium, Mr. Grelodden, considering the time you no doubt pour into publishing your inane articles." Severus drew the words out mockingly, as he was so skilled at doing when severely irritated. He smirked at the angry red color that mottled Grelodden's face as a result of his insult.

The younger man struggled to contain himself as he replied with barely-suppressed rage, "There are many in attendance here who think the selection of you as Keynote Speaker was unacceptable."

Severus smiled tightly. "I'm sure there are." He took Hermione's hand and pulled her around to his side, the furthest from Grelodden, and tucked her carefully under his arm. "Good day to you, Potions Expert," he bade him derisively, effectively ending the conversation and moving down the aisle with Hermione purposefully.

"Merlin, but I hate him," Hermione breathed, looking up at Severus as they exited the grand conference room where he had given his presentation. "I wish I could forget that he existed."

Severus pulled her to the side, and halted next to the marble wall of the foyer, holding her arms and staring at her seriously. "How do you feel?" he asked of her, searching her eyes for any signs of anxiety or stress.

She smiled up at him. "I'm fine, Severus. You didn't let him hardly look at me. I appreciate it." She wrapped her arms around his waist and embraced him tightly, her head resting on his chest just over his heart. She gasped and pulled back, though, at the sound of his heartbeat. "Your heart is racing!" she said to him. "Maybe I should be asking how you feel?"

He cupped her face in his large hands, pushing her hair back and tilting her head up. "In truth, I feel things I never have before. You do something to me, witch." Gazes locked, his eyes bored into hers with a breathtaking intensity. He felt like a veritable god among men, despite the unpleasant exchange with that bastard Grelodden, and Hermione had been the catalyst of the exhilaration within him. He felt a pressing need to get her naked and answer her question thoroughly, but she had already skipped lunch to assist him in setting up for his presentation, and he did not want her to go without.

"Dinner," he told her solemnly, "And then you are mine, and only mine, in our suite, until tomorrow morning."

She grinned in response, her eyes already glazed with desire. "Dinner later," she directed softly. "Take me upstairs now." Her voice was hardly more than a whisper.

Resisting the urge to scoop her into his arms and make a spectacle of them both in the hotel foyer, he entwined his hand with hers and led them to the magical elevators that would carry them to their suite. They boarded, and as soon as the doors closed she looked up at him from beneath her lashes, well aware of the kind of visceral reaction such an action from her evoked in him. His mouth came down in bruising force over hers, his tongue plundering her mouth with such ferocity that a deep moan escaped her. She pressed her body to his, nearly climbing his body like a tree in an effort to get as close as possible to him.

The elevator whizzed, then came to a halt outside the door of their suite, waiting for the magical keycard to be presented. It wasn't until endless moments later they realized they had arrived, when a warning ding ding ding began to chime. Tearing away from her with complete reluctance, Severus dug into his robes for the key, and held it up for the elevator to scan.

The doors swung open, and Hermione grabbed playfully at his arse, causing him to whirl around with an indignant expression. She gave him a cheeky grin, and he growled low in his throat, snatching her inside their room with his hands firmly gripping her waist, heady with the need to have her.

He kicked the door shut and pressed Hermione against it, capturing her wrists and pinning them above her head. His free hand tore at her robes, pulling her dress down her shoulder as his lips moved down her neck, over her collarbone, his mouth branding her with bliss. She arched against him, impatient, but he lifted his dark head and his predatory gaze made her breath hitch in her throat.

"Your brazen attempts to beguile me during my presentation have left me no choice but to punish you properly," he cautioned her, voice at its deepest timbre, washing over her senses and sending a jolt of electricity right to her core. He was always incredibly pleased with the way her body responded to him, the way her inhibitions came crashing down as soon as he came anywhere near her.

He stepped away from her and jerked his head toward the massive bed. "Facedown, my lovely witch." He watched her eyes widen, a fiery response lighting up the honey-brown orbs. He could see the moment her feeble protest died on her lips, as she allowed her desire to overrule her indignity at being commanded in such a way. Hermione was one of the bossiest witches he had ever met, but when it came to their lovemaking, she let him take control. She longed for it, became weak in the knees whenever he told her what to do. It certainly made it easier for him to deal with her outside of the bedroom, knowing no matter how pushy she was during the day, at night, he would be in charge of that sassy mouth of hers.

Severus watched her step next to the bed, and reach down to remove her heels before she followed his orders. "No," he stopped her, and she glanced over her shoulder at him coyly. He removed his robes, throwing them on the nearest chair, and stalked toward her. "Those stay," he indicated her heels, then eyed her arse. "Dress… off."

Hermione straightened, slowly, and she knew what she was doing to him, damn her. His eyes followed her every tiniest movement. She reached down to bunch the silky fabric of her dress in her hands, and then pulled it up and over her head in one smooth motion, leaving his mouth suddenly dry as a desert when his eyes settled on her naked body. A small, triumphant smirk tilted her lips as he discovered she wore no undergarments. His trousers suddenly felt deathly tight.

She finally bent over the bed, facedown, and a groan escaped him before he could stop it. She drove him crazy, he couldn't deny it. Her soft, creamy skin beckoned him, the two full globes of her arse creating a frenzy inside him. He stepped behind her, palms itching.

A stinging whack across her bottom caused her to cry out. He rubbed over the print of his hand, pleased with his handiwork. When she wriggled, he spanked her again, and her thighs quivered as she hummed low in her throat. He adjusted her legs, spreading them wider, then slapped her arse again, eliciting a gasp from her.

She was dripping wet, her folds parting readily for his fingers, and he stroked the length of her damp heat, causing her to arch her lower back higher, seeking more of his touch. His fingers brushed over her clit ever so lightly, and she moaned, grinding her hips down at the sensation.

His cock was twitching painfully, and he wanted to pound her into the fucking mattress. But this woman… this woman had given him everything. He wanted nothing more than to show her his sincere appreciation.

Severus flipped her over abruptly. "Remove your glamours," he instructed, watching her blink rapidly in confusion before she murmured the counterspell. The vast scars across her abdomen and collarbone appeared, stark white against her flushed skin. He stepped between her legs and bent over her, his fingers tenderly running over the blemishes. "You are beautiful," he reassured her, hating the sad look in her eyes. He pressed his lips first to her collarbone, trailing the round mark where the dragon's horn had pierced clean through her body. His hands slid up over her silky skin, cupping her full breasts and massaging them. Her eyes closed as a delighted moan escaped her, her hands entangling in his jet-black locks, urging him for more. Smirking, he bent his head and laved one of her nipples with his tongue, rolling the other between his thumb and forefinger. Her hips lifted from the bed, her body begging him for relief, but he took his time, worshipping her breasts with his hands and mouth until she was panting softly.

He trailed wet kisses down her stomach, and caressed the burn scars at her abdomen with his lips, covering every inch of the crinkled skin. One of his hands stroked the hypersensitive flesh of her inner thighs, urging her legs to part further as his kisses moved over her mound.

"Please, Severus, please, don't torture me, come inside me," she whispered the invitation desperately to him, clutching at his shoulders and hair for dear life.

"Not yet, love," he murmured in response, his hot breath hitting her aching center. She writhed at the feel of it. He clamped her hips tightly with his hands to hold her in place as his mouth descended on her glistening quim. His tongue flicked against her clit, then swirled against the hardened bud without restraint. Hermione's hips were bucking wildly, and he pressed down on her thighs, not allowing her to seek her pleasure, but doling it out in his own good time. He buried nose between her folds, using what he'd always thought was his worst feature to create a constant stroke against her clit while his tongue dove into her entrance. He alternated between the two motions, sucking at the small bundle of nerves then plunging his tongue inside her. Hermione slapped at the bed, her head turning from side to side deliriously as she approached her climax.

"That's it," he growled against her slit. He pressed two fingers inside her, curling them to brush against her most sensitive spot. "Come for me."

She cried out and her whole body tensed, hips rising from the bed with the force of her orgasm, clutching the bedsheets like a lifeline.

He moved over her, having already murmured the spell to remove his clothing, his cock standing up ramrod straight. He guided himself to her core, entering her slowly, tantalizingly, as aftershocks continued to grip her body. He lifted her legs so that her ankles rested on his shoulders, and stroked into her slowly. He tried to retain his control, but her feminine muscles were squeezing him so tightly, and she was looking up at him with her mouth agape, wild brown hair fanned out around her... his hips sped up, rapidly pistoning against her, his heavy balls slapping against her arse.

One of her hands snuck up his thigh and around to his buttocks, where she sunk her nails into his round cheek and moaned, her hips meeting him thrust for thrust. He turned his head and pressed a kiss to her ankle, the strap of her heels brushing the corner of his mouth. Fuck, but she was everything. She was everything.

Severus bent forward and grabbed her shoulders, holding her in place as he pounded into her. He could feel himself nearing his peak, and he cursed, because he still had so much he wanted to give her.

Folding one of her legs around his waist, and holding the other leg straight up, he reached down to strum her clit. She screamed in ecstasy, and the sound drove him wild. He drove into her like a wild heathen, puncturing each of her ragged moans with a thrust, and then his balls tightened. He roared his release, still forcefully rubbing her clit. Her walls clenched around him as he released himself inside her, and she clawed at his arse as she came violently, joining him, her whole body trembling.

Struggling to regain his breath, he slipped from her and joined her on the bed, laying on his stomach with his head turned so that he could watch her in wonder. His little witch had enchanted him, wholly and completely. It was time he made that known to her, even if the thought terrified him. How could he allow himself to love, to place his trust and life into the hands of someone else again, after all he had been through? But it was far too late to go back. He was in love with her; she had become the center of his world, and truthfully, he was tired of fighting it.