Chapter Twenty- Five- Stay With Me

Severus woke up the next morning feeling disoriented and sore. His neck was propped up awkwardly on the arm of the sofa and his legs were twisted into an uncomfortable angle. Like all mornings, his quarters were completely dark which only added to his bewilderment. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a feathery soft tickle on his chest. Severus flinched and quickly waved his hand to start up a small fire in the hearth. Looking down, Severus was able to see the source of the tickling sensation. Sometime during the night, Clara had rolled over so her body could curl into his. One arm was now draped across his chest and a few delicate fingers were rubbing small circles across the small section of exposed skin just below his collar. It was evident by her even breaths and relaxed body that she was still sleeping. Severus lay as still as he could and watched her in fascination. The warm firelight reflected off her pale face, giving her an almost ethereal glow. Her lips were full and pink and hovered just above his chest. She looked relaxed and content curled up next to him.

It was then that it hit him. This was the first time he had ever slept with a woman. True, he'd had sexual partners before. They had all been nameless, faceless, means to an end. Each encounter had left him feeling guilty and dirty. It had been years since he had gone back to Knockturn Alley, yet he still felt shameful.

A light stirring interrupted Severus' self-loathing as Clara shifted her weight, bringing her even closer to his body. Her leg innocently brushed against his already hardening member, eliciting a soft moan from his lips. What he wouldn't do to have her at this very moment. Severus allowed himself the pleasure of feeling her body pressed against him for a few more minutes before he knew he would have to wake her up. It was the first day of the Easter Holidays and he needed to check on the remaining Slytherins that chose to stay behind in order to study for end of the term exams. He was also afraid that if he didn't remove himself from this position he would snap and decide to take her right there, whether she wanted it or not.

"Clara," he whispered as he gently ran his long fingers up and down her arm. "Clara, you need to wake up."

"Hmm…I don't want to," she mumbled as she tucked her face into his chest, which effectively caused her leg to apply even more pressure onto his now painfully hard cock.

Severus' eyes grew wide and he had to bite his lip to keep himself from groaning with pleasure. "Clara, I need to take care of business and I can't move until you do," he whispered in an unintentionally husky tone.

Clara squirmed a little more as she attempted to wake up. Severus, despite being very angular and thin was the most comfortable pillow she'd ever had. There was no way she was going to break contact with him. She stretched and without thinking slid her hand down Severus tummy. She hadn't realized she was practically lying on top of him. Still disoriented from sleep, she was confused when her hand slid across something large and hard. It wasn't until she heard a loud gasp that she realized what body part she had brushed against. Her eyes shot open and locked into the smoldering gaze of the man she had fallen asleep with.

Severus' eyes were wide and even blacker then they normally appeared. Even in the dim light, she could see that his pupils were dilated and his gaze was heated and intense. Embarrassed, Clara tried to diffuse the situation. "Good morning, Sev. Did you sleep well?" she said sheepishly with a nervous smile. She knew that sometimes men woke up with a hard on and she didn't want Severus feeling embarrassed by it. She had no idea that her mere presence was actually the cause of it.

Severus merely nodded as he sucked in a deep breath and attempted to scoot himself up…and calm himself down. Clara pulled herself up, making sure she kept her hands clear of his body. It was not that she minded finding him in such a state. In fact, she was having a hard time controlling her own body from reacting at this point. However, she was unsure of what to do about it and didn't know how Severus was feeling at the moment. His on and off again moods had left her confused as to how to act around him lately.

"Do you have to go?" Clara asked quietly as she regained the use of her voice.

"I'm afraid I do. With Umbridge in charge of the school, it is now more important than ever for the rest of the teachers to keep a watch over the students," he replied as she quickly got up from the couch. His face was flushed with embarrassment and he was grateful that the fire was currently the only source of light in the room.

"Oh…yeah, I suppose you're right," she said, sounding clearly disappointed. "I guess I was hoping that we could…"

"I could return early this afternoon. I only have a few students staying over the break. Perhaps we could play a game of chess and spend the rest of the day together?" The words were out of his mouth before he could swallow them back. He thought that he would feel foolish speaking them but once he saw the look of pure joy appear across her face, he knew he had said the right thing. "I promise I will be quick. I will bring us lunch. Would you like that?" he asked nervously.

She smiled up at him and gave a shy nod. She had spent many hours alone with him but something had changed in their relationship the night before. I guess sleeping by a man will do that. Somehow, it felt like he was asking her on a date. Well, as much of a date as two people could go on while locked down in a dungeon.

Severus did his rounds as quickly as possible. After checking that his remaining snakes were behaving themselves, he did a quick walk through of the castle and it's grounds. After briefly speaking with Minerva about who would take turns doing extra patrols, he discreetly exited the castle grounds. Once he did his best to transfigure his clothing to look more like a Muggle attire, (which is very hard to do while still wearing them) he Apparated with a pop to the nearest Muggle village. He remembered Clara saying that she really missed eating Chinese food, so he thought he would surprise her with food from the 'outside' today. In just a few minutes, Severus appeared back at the school with a brown sack full of sweet and sour chicken, egg drop soup, egg rolls and two glass bottles of coke. He figured he could at least give the drink a try for her sake.

Severus was grateful for the almost empty castle since it made it easy for him to disappear back down to his quarters without being bothered. All he wanted to do was spend as much time with Clara as he possibly could without Umbridge or a student pestering him. Severus opened the door to his quarters and was momentarily panicked when he didn't immediately see her. His body relaxed when he saw a light eliminate from underneath the bathroom door. With a few flicks of his wand, Severus unpacked their lunch and spread it out onto the coffee table. After tweaking the position of all the bowls and plates multiple times to insure everything looked perfect, he began to pace. He desperately wanted to please her. After hearing her story the night before, all he wanted to do was to make her smile. She deserved to smile everyday.

After waiting for another ten minutes, he began feeling impatient. The practice of patience was not one of his strong suits and he couldn't figure out what could possibly be taking her that long. "Clara…lunch is ready," he yelled from across the room. No answer. Severus sulked across the room and tapped on the bathroom door. "Clara, what's taking so long?" Still no answer. Another rush of panic hit him. What if she had fallen and hurt herself? What if something was wrong? Severus pounded the door with renewed vigor, but there was still no answer.

"Alohomora," he murmured and slowly pushed the door open. It took him a moment for his brain to catch up with him, for what he saw inside completely threw him for a loop. Clara was lounging contented in his oversized, claw-footed tub, as naked as the day she was born. If it had not been for the mounds of bubbles covering her body, he would have been able to see everything. Her head was propped comfortably at the top of the tub with one arm resting underneath her neck and the other dangling out to the side. Severus stood in shock for a moment, unable to form any coherent thoughts. He knew he should turn and flee immediately, but he couldn't seem to move. She looked so beautiful, so enticing and so…naked!

Clara was humming to herself and he quickly realized she had not heard him calling for her due to the fact that she had her headphones over her ears. He chuckled to himself when he saw that her toes were wiggling just under the water line in time with whatever music she was listening to. He had observed that she never could sit still and he guessed it was because she always had some type of song in her head. The song on her magically run portable CD player must have changed because she began to bob her head from side to side and kick her feet with gusto. This caused the water to slosh around exposing more of her chest until the bubbles barely covered her breasts. Severus' eyes widened even more as the frothy bubbles began to dissipate around her. He was grateful her eyes were shut tight since he would be mortified if she caught him gawking at her. He was just about to turn and run when she began singing. It started off as just a mumble but soon turned into her own private karaoke show.

"I love myself, I want you to love me,

When I feel down, I want you above me,

I search myself, I want you to find me,

I forget myself, I want you to remind me,

I don't want anybody else,

When I think about you, I touch myself

Ooh, I don't want anybody else,"

Severus' mouth dropped open. I'm going to internally combust, he thought as he listened to her croon out her sensual lyrics. "What the hell is she singing?" he groaned as he watched her fingertips skim across the rim of the tub. Severus snapped back to reality when he saw her reach for the towel she had placed next to the tub. He quickly jumped back and shut the door behind him. He could hear her sloshing around, followed by the sound of the tub draining. He leaned back against the bathroom door still listening to her sing to herself, as she got dressed. His thoughts lingered to what she must look like still wet and soapy from her bath. "I have to have her," he quietly said out loud, as he tried to even his breathing. Being a man who never rushed into a quest without a plan, he began forming exactly how he would achieve his goal and win his prize. He knew it would take time. Clara would be worth the effort and the wait. He didn't want to scare her off but if he didn't have her soon, he would go crazy with desire. It had been years since he had made love to a woman and he wanted this one. Just one time to get her out of his system and he was sure he would feel better.

Severus resumed his pacing as he contemplated ways to seduce his prey. He was so caught up in his musing that the sudden sharp pain in his forearm completely caught him off guard. "Dammit!" he hissed as he clutched his arm. The Dark Lord seemed to have the worst timing. "What could that psycho possibly want on a Saturday afternoon?" With a scowl firmly in place, he rushed to grab his mask and cloak so as not to be late to his summons. After writing a quick note to leave for Clara explaining his absence, he stopped and took one last look at his failed lunch attempt. "That snake bastard is going to make attempts at seduction difficult if he keeps calling me away from her," he thought in a huff as he fled his quarters.

Clara was disappointed to find Severus' note explaining that he would more than likely be gone the rest of the day. She enjoyed her special meal alone and spent the rest of the day cleaning up the room, reading a few books he had lent her and painting her toenails just as an attempt to pass by the lonely hours. Around eleven o'clock that evening, Clara finally decided she should try to go to sleep. She sifted though her trunk for some pj's only to discover that they were all in her dirty laundry hamper. Severus had not yet decided if he trusted the House Elves enough to let them know she was down here so she was quickly building up an impressive mountain of dirty clothes.

Glancing across the room, Clara spied a basket full of Severus' freshly laundered clothing. She decided it wouldn't hurt to just see what he had available. Better to sleep in something of his than in an uncomfortable pair of jeans. She quickly found a large black t-shirt that she figured he wore underneath his multiple layers of vests and coats. She then nervously pulled out a pair of his boxers. They were a silky material with dozens of tiny Slytherin crests speckled about in emerald green. Clara smiled to herself at how devoted he was to his house.

She changed into her makeshift pajamas, savoring the feel of the soft fabric and the lingering scent of her beloved potions master. After curling up on the couch, she fought sleep as long as she could in hopes that Severus would return quickly. Around midnight, Clara had just begun to doze when a loud thud startled her back to her senses. Clara jumped up and grabbing her dagger which she had placed on the floor below her. Peering through the darkness, she could just barely making out the shape of a huddled mass collapsed against the door.

"Sev, is that you?" she whispered as she tightened her grip on the weapon.

"Clara…I," came a muffled reply, followed by a low groan.

"Oh God, Severus what happened to you?" she cried as she rushed over to where he laid huddled up against the door.

After fumbling for a pack of matches, he had left for her on his desk she calmed her shaking hands long enough to light a few candles so she could see him properly. Severus was paler then normal. His face was contorted in pain and beads of sweat rolled freely down his face. His body was trembling uncontrollably and a trail of crimson dripped from what looked to be a busted lip.

"Severus, what did he do to you? Talk to me please," she gushed as she wiped her hand gently across his brow. "What do I need to do?"

"Bed…just help me get into bed."

Clara nodded and gently hooked herself underneath his arm. After a few moments of struggling, she was able to help him up and across the room to his bed. With great effort, she flopped him onto the mattress and pulled both legs up till he was finally comfortably on his back. She then pulled both of his heavy boots off of his feet before sitting down beside him to get a better look.

"I need to clean your lip, Sev. Don't move and I'll go get something for it." Clara ran to the washroom and came back with a wet washcloth and few potion vials she had grabbed out of the medicine cabinet. "It looks like you took quite a punch," she whispered as she smoothed a strand of hair out off of his face and began to gently wipe off the dried blood around his split lip.

"Not a punch. More like Malfoy's boot," he whispered in a gravelly voice.

"Malfoy kicked you? God, he's a bastard."

"He didn't want to, Clara. Lucius wouldn't do that to me unless he had to. The Dark Lord made him do it. Then he made everyone take turns using the Cruciatus curse as my punishment."

"Your punishment! What did you do?"

"It's not what I did…it's what I didn't do," he said softly as he took a calming draught that Clara offered to him. "I failed to deliver something the Dark Lord desired."

"What did he want?"

"Something that he could use as revenge against Albus. Something I would only let him get over my dead body," he murmured softly as he locked his black eyes with her blue.

"Ummm…me?" she asked softly as she blushed under his intense gaze.

Severus nodded but before either of them could say anything else, his body began shaking violently as the tremors from the Cruciatus Curse once again wracked his body. The muscles in his jaw tensed as the pain ran through his body causing his fingers to fist the sheets of his bed.

"Oh, Sev, this is all my fault. I'm so sorry. What do I do? Is there a potion to make this stop? I can go get it for you," she whimpered as she gazed in horror at his shaking limbs.

"No potion…it just has to run its course," he hissed through his teeth as he tried to hide just how much pain he was actually in from her. Voldemort had been irate once Severus told him that Clara had been taken with Dumbledore and he was unaware of their current location. This was a lie of course but there was no way he could tell him the truth. After forcing Lucius to kick Severus down to a more demeaning stance, he was subjected to what felt like hours of the Unforgivable Curse. Now he would be forced to endure a full night of the almost equally painful side effects. There was no known cure for the curse and the only thing that was even remotely comforting and beneficial was human contact.

Clara looked down at him with compassion shining through her blue eyes. As if she read his mind, she slowly kicked off her shoes and crawled into bed next to him. After pulling the heavy quilt over them both, she wrapped her arms around his weary body and tucked her head underneath his chin. "How does that feel? Any better?" she whispered gently. Severus gulped and inhaled her sweet, fruity scent. "Yes…I believe I'm already feeling better," he whispered in return.

After a few minutes of holding each other in silence, without breaking contact, Clara pushed herself up so she could get a better look at his face. She ran her finger lightly over Severus' lip to make sure the bleeding had stopped. His breath hitched as her finger glided across overly sensitive skin, leaving a warm tingling sensation in its wake.

"I'm sorry this happened to you. Thank you for protecting me," she murmured as she continued to slide her finger across his lips and down around his jaw line.

"You have nothing to be…."

Clara silenced him by placing her finger back across his lips before he could continue. "Just except my gratitude, Sev. Now you need to go sleep," she said as she resumed stroking her finger gently across his face. Before he knew what she was doing, she had leaned forward and planted a light kiss on his forehead. After gauging his reactions to ensure that he didn't get angry, she moved and planted another kiss on his cheek. Then another on the opposite cheek and one on his nose. Severus tensed when her lips touched his prominent nose. Clara noticed his distress and quickly gave it another peak. "I like your nose. It is very distinguished and masculine," she said with a grin.

Severus wasn't sure how to take the compliment and he was still a little dumbstruck by her ministrations that he was only able to respond with a small smile. A sharp pain resonated through his mouth when his smile stretched the area around his swollen lip, causing him to once again wince. Without hesitation, Clara slowly leaned forward and pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth, just beside his injury. Her gentle kiss seemed to reverberate though his entire body, calming all of the tremors and relaxing his muscles better then any potion ever could.

"Sleep," she whispered as she placed one more tiny kiss onto his chin, just below his lips. She began to get up so she could go to sleep but a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. "Stay with me," he pleaded as his eyes gazed up at her with sincerity. Clara smiled and nuzzled her head back into his neck and snuggled her body as close as she could possibly get. Severus wanted so badly to beg her to kiss him once again. He wanted to feel her lips on his and he didn't even care that it may cause pain. The pleasure she would give him would out weigh any pain.

Severus shut his eyes and relished the feel of having her once again beside him. The feeling was still so foreign and so new. Oh Clara, do you know what you do to me? he thought as he closed his eyes. With a nonchalant wave of his hand, all the candles were extinguished, plunging the room into darkness. Severus could feel Clara's body gradually relax as she drifted off to sleep. He was then left alone with his own thoughts. He knew he had to figure out a way to ensure that they slept like this every night. This was paradise.