Written for "candle" challenge.
One would think, living in the wizarding world, where electricity was almost impossible due to the magical energy buzzing around the air in such strong concentrations, that candlelight would be about as romantic or sexy as fluorescent bulbs.
The random, utterly out-of-place thought made her lips quirk with amusement.
"Something funny, Granger?" his voice rumbled from the shadowy corner of the room.
She didn't answer right away, but simply watched as he emerged, the soft golden light painting flickering shadows across his muscled chest, illuminating the markings she'd traced so many times with fingers and tongue. Just the sight of him sent a molten heat through her, anticipation causing her desire to quickly grow and lap at her senses like the small flames positioned throughout the room.
Shadows gave way to the warm dim light of the candles and fireplace, revealing more than just the gorgeous wizard who possessed her heart, body, and soul.
"Not at all," she answered weakly, her stomach fluttering with sudden nervousness as she realized what he was holding. How on earth did he find those? she wondered in growing panic.
Reading her expression perfectly, his smirk spread into a filthy grin. "Oh come now, love – nothing to be scared of. It's not as if you've never seen these before…"
She had seen them. They were hers. Anger at the breach of privacy warred with several other emotions as he came closer, his fingers slowly and suggestively tracing the outline of the first item he'd pulled from the box.
She jerked on the ropes fruitlessly, her cheeks burning. He really wasn't going to give her a choice but to endure this, she knew, so she took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm. Closing her eyes, she said with forced coolness, "I will make you pay for this, Black."
His voice came suddenly closer to her ear than she expected. "Yes, my love, I know you will. And I look forward to every minute of it," he whispered, smiling at her gasp as the warm pulsing head pressed intimately against her. "But first, we'll play with your toys…"