-.-

Author's note: There is explicit content in this chapter, so if it offends you in some manner refrain from reading please. Thank you *.*

-.-

"How is Conroy?" Harry asked trying to keep up with Severus's long strides down the minister's hallway.

"In a coma" Severus replied through gritted teeth.

"I heard it was a dark magical discharge that did him in" Harry said.

"Not exactly" Severus didn't want to talk to Potter at that moment, but the man began chasing him the moment he apparated in his offices. He got an urgent call that morning and he got in to find out that Conroy that was send in the underworld yesterday got violently attacked and they had to go in to get him. He was currently attended to in St. Mungo's hospital in the ER unit, with life support. He was in a coma and his life was in danger. His wife and fifteen year old boy were by his side, and Severus cringed away from the responsibility of talking with them. He was obliged to offer his condolences about this terrifying turn of events. His was Conroy's boss, he was the one that send him into this hell, he was mainly responsible for getting him into a coma. Severus was unable to come to terms with how painful it was to lose Keepers, and even though it was expected because the dangers of this job were tangible, he still took the whole blame on himself. All the time, and in every case.

Conroy had been a strong and experienced wizard. Able to control dark magic very well. The fact that he was taken by surprise caused a lot of unease to Severus. Something was going on inside the parallel worlds, and it was serious enough to catch one of his best keepers off guard. They found him lying unconscious with heavy head trauma caused by a blunt object between the entrances of the fifth and the sixth level. The deepest part of the underworld. Blaming himself one more time for not checking the sixth level himself before sending Conroy in, Severus tightened his teeth and his hand contracted into a fist. He was angry as hell this day. Conroy's family didn't need an angry man offering his condolences to them. They were in enough pain already. He had seen enough pain and death in his life to last him three more lifetimes, yet whenever someone close to him suffered he couldn't stop his anger from surfacing. His desperation triggered anger, his sadness did the same and even though he knew it was wrong, it was too late into the game to try and change the conditioning.

"What happened then?" Harry asked.

"Severe head trauma between the coronal structure and the parietal bone…." he trailed off as Harry was looking at him totally confused "…in short he got his head caved in Potter" he said gritting his teeth one more time as a wave of wrath shuddered his spine.

"Fuck…" Harry said covering his mouth "Why did they mention dark magic then?"

"Dark magic was the decoy. He probably turned to parry the discharge and he got attacked from the back. Sneaky…sneaky…" he muttered to himself with a deep frown.

"What the hell is going on in the underworld Severus?" Harry asked solemnly.

"Not good things…" he pressed his lips disapprovingly.

"And?"

"And what Potter?" he suddenly snapped and Harry had to step back.

"Are you going in? What is the next move from the keepers?" the auror asked crossing his hands.

"No, I am taking a long vacation…i have had enough of all of you" Severus hurled back and dismissed him with his hand.

"You must be jesting…" Harry followed him as Severus reached the minister's reception. This time he didn't wait for the secretary to announce him.

"Wait master, he is in a meeting!" the girl cried raising her hand.

"Sit down!" he commanded and almost kicked the door in. Him and Harry walked in to find the minister with the head financial advisor of the economics department Barnes. They both stood up urgently.

"We need to talk, now" he said tilting his head to Kingsley.

The minister nodded and turned to Barnes "Please Austin, can you?" he asked kindly. Barnes picked up his papers and turned to Severus.

"I heard what happened to Conroy. Please accept my condolences"

"He is not dead yet" he responded tightly.

Barnes pressed his lips and taking his envelope bag under his armpit he turned to the minister "Call me in minister when you finish. Goodbye masters" he said to both Harry and Severus.

"Please sit down" Kingsley offered.

"No thank you" he said solemnly not taking the offered sit. Harry mimicked him and remained standing.

Kingsley's brows raised to the ceiling "How is Conroy?" he asked.

"Comatose"

"I am so sorry, Conroy was a very worthy man" Kingsley sounded genially sad.

"Is, minister, he still is" Severus pressed his lips truly bothered that everyone was speaking of Conroy in the past tense.

"yes of course, I am sorry. What happened in the underworld is very worrying" Kingsley said walking around his office and leaning on it with his arms crossed.

"The attack on Conroy was a combination of dark magic and brutal force. Someone is moving about down there, and is after keepers…" Severus said.

"Why would they? Who would be crazy enough to attack you people?" Harry asked.

"Because we are the only ones able to dig them out of their hiding. If someone is using the parallel worlds to unleash dark magic on our world, or even take muggleborn abductees, we are the ones able to scratch the surface of their hideouts. The fact that Conroy was attacked so ruthlessly, attests that he was close to revealing something"

"you think that someone down there is keeping the muggleborns that have gone missing?" Kingsley's eyes questioned him.

"Quite possibly, the aurors can find no single trace from them. The only way to hide someone so efficiently is through the parallel worlds. At least you should consider it as a possibility" Severus fired back.

"He is right minister" Harry said thoughtfully.

Kingsley nodded "Very well then, shall Mr. Potter assign a couple of aurors to you, so the two groups can work together in this?"

"I'll work with him on it myself" Harry said steadily. Severus looked at him briefly and then turned to Kingsley again.

"Listen to me and listen well. If there is a perilous situation down at the sixth level, then you might just need to consider declaring the magical world in an emergency state" Severus said keenly.

"What the hell for master? I don't want to scare the public unless we have proof that we are in serious danger" Kingsley admonished.

"Because you will need the magical departments ready to deal with a possible crisis minister. If we go in and uncover the culprits of this mess, you need to be prepared for a possible final blow. And believe me, any kind of magical attack from the sixth level is going to cover the magical world in darkness, and it will be impossible to fight back from the streets. You need to prepare at least the law enforcement and medical departments to begin with" he winced trying to control his anger one more time.

"Very well I shall consider the suggestion only if you reach the sixth level and find out that something is truly lurking down there. Something other than the usual brainless monsters" Kingsley raised his brows provocatively.

"Conroy's attack was not brainless. It was well planned. No brainless creature would have been able to tackle down my best keeper. Someone is down there and is messing our world. Quite possibly abducting muggleborns, and unleashing traceless dark magic which causes all these birth defects" Severus countered.

"I understand your concerns master, and they are not taken lightly as your position and your previous experience in the two magical wars is quite extended. Nevertheless I am not going to take any emergency actions yet" Kingsley said decisively "I will wait for further keeper investigations on that last level"

Severus shook his head "It's going to crash hard upon us…and we are not going to be ready"

"Is the keeper speaking or a psychic?" Kingsley rejoined.

"Experience…" Severus pierced him with blazing eyes.

Kingsley drew a deep breath "I shall not stir the pot unless you bring me solid proof"

"Very well minister" Severus said tilting his head and turned towards the door. That dismissive attitude was really firing his anger up. There was nothing else he could do there.

"I am waiting for results masters" Kingsley waved them off.

"Of course minister" Harry said and closed the door carefully behind him. He looked up at Severus that had taken off.

"Wait…" he called.

Severus didn't stop until Harry's hand landed heavily on his shoulder "Wait, please" Potter said.

"Not now Potter, I need to attend to my colleague" he snapped.

"I will inform the aurors of a possible massive attack from the parallel worlds" Harry said carefully.

Severus eyes squinted in doubt, but he didn't voice it. He shook his head in accord "You should"

"Tell me what to look out for" Harry continued.

Severus drew a deep breath "Watch out for invisible portals around places were muggleborns are being abducted. You know the signs of invisible portals correct?"

"Significant drops of temperature and muffled sounds, yes" Harry nodded.

"If you see anything like that, notify us" Severus continued.

"I will attend to that immediately, but before you go there is one more thing" Harry said releasing his shoulder and licking his lips uneasily.

"Tell me"

"It's about Hermione" Harry looked up at him.

"What about your friend?" Severus asked uncrossing his arms.

"I don't want you to train her for a keeper" Harry said steadily.

Severus drew a breath and closed his eyes "I don't want to train her either"

Harry exhaled with a smile of relief "Thank the Gods…i was so worried. You see what happened to Conroy and he was a veteran…"

"I have been postponing the whole deal for a week now, but it's not as easy as it seems"

"Why not? If you deny her, then that would be the end of any debate" Harry said frowning.

"She agreed to accept the marriage law, provided that I would get her a place in my group" Severus explained.

"take it back, it won't be hard to do, and it also goes well with your reputation" Harry brushed him off.

Severus looked at him austerely "I will brush off your rudeness Potter. As for Miss Granger you know better than me how stubborn she can be. I am trying to keep her away from danger, but if she pushes me to the limits, I am going to be obliged to train her. I am not a man that takes back on his own word…no matter your own misconceptions"

"So you prefer to put her in harm's way, instead of staining your integrity?" Harry raised his brow.

"I prefer to let adults choose their own paths in life" he retaliated.

Harry's face broke painfully and he grabbed his upper arm forcefully "Don't let her get hurt…"

Severus took his hand and pushed him away "I'd rather die than see her get hurt…" he said feeling anger boiling inside him, and tears edging in his eyes. He didn't even want to question why that had been an issue all of a sudden "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the hospital" he added and turned around. Leaving a moonstruck Harry behind him, Severus made it to the elevators and when the doors closed behind him, he leaned his head back at the panel and closed his eyes.

-.-

Several hours later, he entered his house feeling totally drained from the emotional overload at St. Mungo's. He saw Conroy unresponsive at the bed supported by all these magical machines. His son raised to greet him the moment Severus came in with a sincere eagerness that touched his heart. The wife was unable to communicate and her hazy eyes were looking right through him as he offered his condolences. That demanding meeting left him empty and as he walked in he barely looked at Hermione that was sitting on the couch reading a book. He took off his coat without a word and dropped it upon the counter.

"Good afternoon" she said with a soft smile.

He didn't retaliate and wordlessly he moved past her and entered the bathroom. Not minding to close the door behind him he opened the tap and turned it to cold. Releasing the band from his hair he placed his head under the freezing water and he inhaled sharply, hoping that the cold water would shake him out of this mood. He remained there trying to control the sudden drop of temperature on his head and to forget the pale face of Conroy.

"You left before I woke up this morning. I didn't get a chance to make you breakfast. Is everything alright?" she asked from the door.

He shook his head and squeeze his eyes tight "Yes" he said quietly really not in the mood to face her.

"Ok, I have been living with you almost three weeks now, so I don't know your routine so well, but Severus I have never seen you act this way before. Why don't you take your clothes off and take a bath to rejuvenate yourself?" she asked.

He closed the water and lifted his head. His long hair sprayed water all over the bathroom as they rested on his back watering his black shirt. He grabbed a towel and wiped them "I don't want a bath"

"So you just chose to stick your head under the faucet…while you are fully dressed…" she said thoughtfully.

"yes" he said in monotone and pushed past her. He reached the living room and sat down heavily on the easy chair.

She followed him without any rush "Care to tell me what happened? Because something is wrong…" she sat patiently across him.

"Difficult day at work, tell me how are you?" he pushed himself to look up at her.

"Ah, nothing special…cooked, read, went for a long walk…by the way the neighbours are amazing people and they made your privacy their business, haven't they?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes" he replied trying to force a smile.

"They actually told me that they are protecting your identity because you offer them security…not everyone has the keeper commander as a neighbour. Those were their exact words" Hermione said making it to the kitchen "you want me to serve you some dinner?" she asked.

"No thank you" he rubbed his face.

"Did you eat anything at work?" she inquired with slight concern.

He shook his head negatively "I really don't have an appetite. Tell me what else did you do?"

Hermione huffed and leaned her hands at the back of the couch "What do you want me to do here alone all day Severus? I am doing practically nothing"

"I am sure that a clever woman such as yourself can find many things to do"

"Even clever women can wither when there isn't any real challenge around" she said with a smirk.

"How can I challenge you then clever lady?" he asked intending to lighten up the mood. It didn't have the wanted effect.

"You can start by training me…how about that?" she said throwing her hands in the air.

He closed his eyes "Not the best day to talk about this Hermione" he begun but she talked over him.

"Today is not the best day because you seem tired, yesterday because you went into the underworld, the other day because your colleagues did, another time you had an argument with the minister and so on and so forth…it's all excuses isn't it?" she said her tone becoming more strict.

"Maybe they are indeed" he hurled back and looked at her straight in the eyes.

She raised her brows knowingly "That's more like it. Say the truth for once. You don't want to train me, right?"

"No I don't" he replied squeezing his jawline.

"You tricked me didn't you? You tricked me into accepting the marriage law, and now you are taking back your part of the deal" she said pointing at him. Now her voice was edging on anger.

"I tricked you?" he stood up "I tricked you?! The only thing I tried to do was help you…"

"You made a deal with me. Be a man and stick to it. I am tired of coaxing you, in order to be trained. Stand up to your part of the deal" she spat to him and he recoiled.

"Coaxing me?" he asked and suddenly all of her sensual advancements took a very deliberate turn.

Her eyes flew open as she realised the same thing "Ah, no, no, no. Don't turn it around in this manner. I didn't mean our kisses…those were not me coaxing you into anything…" she tried.

He raised his hand "So, wrong choice of words?" he asked pressing his lips truly annoyed.

"Yes, for goodness shake…what the hell is the matter with you today?" she cried in desperation.

"I have had a rough fucking day, and I would appreciate it, if you got off my back" he spat at her not minding his manners.

"Well that escalated quickly…you made your point clear enough" she snapped back and turned around making it to the bedroom.

His hand tightened dangerously and in two steps he grabbed her upper arm and turned her around "I was not the one insinuating that I am snogging you in order to gain something out of you" he growled at her.

"I never meant it this way you asshole…why don't you just admit that you lied to me?" she pulled her hand away from him and straightened her long sweater.

"I didn't!" he snapped back at her, by now his anger was boiling close to explosion.

"Why don't you train me then? My training was supposedly programmed a week ago, and you haven't made a move in that direction. What am I supposed to think? I am reading what the newspapers are saying about us….and I cannot help but wonder" she trailed off.

"What?" he asked lowering his head in a silent warning.

"If you used the keepers and that fake deal in order to get your hands on a wife…in this unethical manner" she said at him defiantly.

He felt his stomach dropping and his blood freezing. Seconds ticked by from the clock above the fireplace as they stared at each other with fiery eyes "Enough" he whispered through gritted teeth. He seized her arm and pulled her to the main door.

"What are you doing? Let me go" she swat his hand angrily.

"I said enough…move it" he spat pulling her behind him.

When they reached the back yard he let her go and turned around menacingly "Pull out your wand" he commanded as the air thrashed his long hair around his face and shoulders.

"What?" she rubbed her arm confused.

"Pull out your fucking wand!" he cried and drew his own pointing it straight at her. Hermione froze over as that dangerous piece of wood came face to face with her.

"Severus I am sorry…i didn't mean what I said. You made me mad…and now you are scaring me" she said cowering away from him towards the forest.

"I said pull out your wand..you wanted training didn't you? You are going to get it!" he called out with raging eyes.

Slowly she reached into her sleeve and pulled her wand out "I don't want to fight you…" she said on the verge of tears.

"I am going to whoop your ass, so you'd better fight back…your wand on guard" he hissed at her.

"I don't want to train like this!" she cried back but held her wand against him.

"Oh and you think the underworld is going to ask you kindly if you are ready to face it?" he asked with a sarcastic laugh that echoed around them.

"Don't be like that…" she pleaded.

"Training…you wanted training…so be it" he mumbled at himself and dropped his own wand at the forest bed.

"Severus what are you doing?" she asked.

"Protect yourself …youngling…" he warned and a powerful electrical discharge blasted out of his fingers and fell upon Hermione.

She squawked and fend it off "What is this? Stop it!" she yelped.

"This is training…lift you wand. Lift it!" he cried and blasted her again.

She managed to repel him just barely but dropped her wand "Wait, I can't…" she scattered amidst the fallen leafs searching for it.

"The underworld won't wait for you to be ready. These blasts come out of nowhere when you least expect them…pick up your wand! Pick it up!" he yelled at her and started pacing impatiently.

"Severus…not like that please" she said as tears began falling from her eyes, but he was too immersed in his wrath to see that.

"I am going to choose how I train you….get on your feet and face me!" he cried and she picked up her wand trembling. She lifted it and faced him "use repelling spells, use your brains!" he commanded and blasted her repeatedly a couple of times.

Hermione parried the two out of the three, but the last one scraped past her arm and she cried in pain "You are actually hurting me! Look at me!" she yelled trying to reach out to him.

"You think this is a game!? You think the underworld is a game? people die in there! Conroy is comatose…he was set useless by a blow in the head and you want to try your hand against what almost killed him?" he hissed and blasted her several more times almost blindingly. The force that came out of his hands was barely controlled from becoming lethal. A small distant voice kept him from unleashing everything he had on her as it repeated in his mind "don't hurt her, don't hurt her, don't hurt her"

She repulsed several of them just barely but two of them got her and threw her at a tree trunk with force. She crashed and kneeled down grabbing her shoulder painfully "Severus for the love of Gods…stop" she was crying by now.

He crossed the yard and came a breathing distance from her "Do you know what it feels like to see the fifteen year old son of your captain, proud that his father fell in the line of duty with eyes red from worry? His youthful hands were trembling...he was barely standing. His wife's eyes were void…she was not there…" he muttered close to her face "…that woman was not there anymore" he said mostly to himself and frowned "I couldn't look at her…i was not strong enough to stay there and talk to her. I wanted to leave as fast as I could" he said observing the contours of Hermione's face.

She shook her head "I am sorry..i am sorry" she kept repeating.

"I told him to go into the underworld…" he said his eyesight clearing slowly. That is when he realised that she was hurt and crying "I was the one that put him into a coma Hermione…i lost many men down there. I don't want to loose you also" he said swallowing a dry abused throat.

"I am sorry I said all these things to you…i just wanted to belong somewhere. I wanted to help you.." she said wiping her tears and cradling her shoulder.

"I am not going to stop you. If you decide to join us, know that today's violence is only one tenth of the reality of the parallel worlds. If you insist I am going to train you…and if you want to survive you will have to listen to me" he said closing his eyes.

"Ok, ok…please can we go in now…i am hurting" she said sobbing.

He winced and helped her up. Without any words he took her into the house and led her to the bedroom. He sat her at the bed and went into his laboratories where he retrieved two bottles. When he came back into the room she looked up to him sadly "I never thought our argument would go this far" she said wiping her tears.

"I am sorry for the way I talked to you, but not for the way I treated you. You wanted keeper training…" he said approaching her back.

"I was not prepared" she said looking at him sideways.

"That place will not wait for you to be prepared. Tomorrow we are going to discuss about runes and how you can create protection schematics around you with them" he said sitting at the bed next to her.

She nodded "I am sorry your captain got attacked" she said carefully.

He winced "Can I lower your sweater? I need to see the wound" he said quietly.

She nodded "Sure" and pulled her own sleeve down revealing her left shoulder.

There was a large diagonal scratch from the shoulder down to the spinal column and around it the skin was deep purple. She took quite a hit back there. Feeling his stomach collapsing in remorse and remembering Potter's words "Don't let her get hurt" he pressed his lips in disapproval to his own actions and gave her the first potion "Drink this please" he said.

She took it and looked back at him "I am a healer you know. I can do this on my own".

"Do you want to do it alone?" he asked looking at her searchingly.

She gulped the potion and gave it back to him "Not really, I want to enjoy your attentions after the whooping I got back there. You should serve me, you know, till I feel better"

He smiled sadly at her back and took the cap off the second bottle "Don't move" he told her and spilled some of the thick transparent liquid on her wound.

She hissed and tried to pull away "This stinks!" she said.

"Remain still" he told her and rubbed the alcoholic based potion all over the wound "It will take only a few minutes"

She curved her back to him and nodded "What happened to your captain?" she asked in a low voice.

He swallowed "He was attacked from two places at once and he was unable to protect himself"

"Dark magic?" she asked leaning back to his hand as he smoothed out the potion on her shoulder blade.

"Yes, but the hit on the head was what send him to the hospital" he replied leaning his head onto hers.

"I am truly sorry Severus" she whispered.

"Forget it…just forget it" he shook his head inhaling the flowery perfume of her hair.

She pushed her head back at him "This potion smells strong, but my back doesn't hurt anymore" she said gently.

He pulled back and looked. The scratch had healed and the skin colour around it was dark green "It's healed" he said caressing her back softly.

"That feels good" she whispered and stretched her neck offering him space to move.

A long inner debate closed down with a loud bang as he closed the distance to her neck and touched her with his lips "Will you tell me I tried to wed you in this unethical manner again?" he asked closing his eyes.

"No…i am sorry I ever did" she said raising her hand and pushing her fingers through his still moist hair.

"And I am sorry I hurt you…" he said tracing small kisses from her shoulder, to the base of her neck. When he reached that spot he opened his mouth and his tongue licked that sensitive spot. He felt her tensing under him and her fingers pulled on his hair.

"Severus," she said turning around and his eyes rose to meet hers. "Make love to me" This was not why he brought her here, but now that they were standing so close he knew he wanted her in every way.

He shuddered beneath her grasp. Then he was turning her over, drawing her into a deep kiss. His tongue slid between her lips and she groaned loudly. It had been so long since someone ignited such a passion inside him and his lust was aching to be released. She pressed her body against his and felt his arms draw her inward.

"Hermione" His voice was thick with longing against her lips. Hermione's former doubts melted easily down her spine as he kissed her again, teasing lips with his tongue. His lips moved below her jaw and over the soft flesh of her neck. She felt absolute release simply being in his arms and tangled both hands in his hair, pulling him down to her.

Once his mouth was locked on to hers once more, tongues licking hungrily at one another, she set about removing her clothes. She could hear her sweater stretch and pop in the neckline as she pulled it over her shoulders, but she dared not to break their kiss. His hands were soon helping her, ripping at the fabric and running down the length of her body.

His mouth trailed her belly, his wet lips tracing soft patterns in every direction as he released her breasts from the bra. His palms smoothed over her nipples and she curved her body up to his touch, as soft moans came from her throat. Below her bellybutton she felt his mouth outlining the path between her legs.

A little voice in the back of her head whispered, "This is Professor Snape! What do you think you're doing?" She promptly told it to bugger off. This was a man who wanted her, who took care of her and she wanted him as well. Ginny had been right…she needed to take care of what was truly important in her life right now. And this was what she wanted the most.

"Tell me Hermione…i need you to tell me what you want" he whispered in a suggestive tone that stopped her breath in her throat

A throaty breath came out as she buried her hands in his hair and pushed his head down to the hotly pulsating area between her legs. She took his hands and guided them up her body. He began rubbing her torso in long, slow strokes that only built her anticipation and in each stroke he ended up squeezing and teasing her breasts. He seemed to know exactly where to touch her to find a reaction and she didn't have to wonder long were he had learned all these tricks. That woman Margot had tried the same things with him. The small flare of jealousy got washed under a wave of heat as his tongue drew a smooth line over her inner lips, parting them deftly. Then it flicked upwards, swirling around her hard nub, before heading back down again.

Hermione moaned hard and drew up her knees. It had been so long since she had been touched so deftly and every thought that passed through her mind was now clouded with lust. She pulled on his hair, lifting his head enough to meet his eyes.

"Not like that Severus, come here" she all but begged him. He climbed her body quickly, resting on top of her and claiming her mouth with an explosive kiss. She could taste and smell herself on his lips and was suddenly very aware that he was still clothed.

"take them off" she said fumbling with his buttons and pulling at his shirt and pants with no reserves. By the time he was naked on top of her, she could wait no longer.

"I have to have you now, please" she begged licking at his cheek and neck.

"You mean we are consummating the engagement?" he spoke playfully near her ear teasing her entrance with his hardness.

She choked a laugh and pulled on his hair roughly "Yes" she said looking at him deep in the eyes.

"yes?" He asked gently as he slid forward, his hard erection sliding easily between her wet folds.

She felt sweetness spreading all over her lower region. As if she was being filled with warm honey. All of the tension and frustration were lifted from her body as he buried himself inside her. He began moving immediately, sliding in and out of her as though they had been doing this their whole lives. Lowering his head, he pressed his cheek against hers and she exhaled into the curve of his neck.

She wrapped her feet around his back, pushing her body up, wanting to reach every part of him. Their bodies rocked in time with one another. His thrusts were steady and felt as though they would never end. She shuddered as his pelvis caressed her clit and his hardness opened her up. His constant strokes coaxed the first orgasm from her body easily and quickly taking her by surprise. Throwing her head back against the pillow, she let the waves pass over her fully unable to stop the sharp cries that came from her throat.

They made love feverishly, only the sounds of panting and the rustle of fabric filled the air. She pulled his hair back with her fingers, biting on his shoulder until his mouth was on hers, tongues licking at skin, too caught up in the sensations of the moment. His lips trembled above hers and his breath came hard and soft as his rhythm intensified and she felt a second wave of pleasure clamp down on her womb. Raising her knees slightly, she bucked her hips into him, swallowing his cock entirely within her wetness. After a few more intense thrusts he let out a sharp cry and shuddered against her. He fell in bed drawing her on him in a tight embrace. She relaxed her head on his chest and caressed the sparse hair there with her fingers as a blissful smile covered her face.

"Oh, this has been right all along.." she trailed off.

He frowned without opening his eyes "What?"

"making love to you, was pure heaven…" she whispered and kissed his chest gently.

He twisted his fingers into her hair and kissed her forehead "I am sorry about what happened outside" he said carefully.

"If you intend to reward me in this manner after each training, I will sign a paper that I allow you to whoop my ass every day" she said happily and snuggled against him. He didn't answer but he kept on kissing her forehead and hair until she felt sleep overtaking her.

"Goodnight" he whispered above her and she nodded feeling safe and warm in his embrace. That was all she needed to sleep well that night, and that was all he needed to forget what had brought them here, in the first place.

-.-