A/N: For the lovely blueeyedsure who is the kindest soul! Thank you so much for the cookies 3
"This is not a good idea." Nerves created a tangle of unease in Hermione's stomach, and she had to pause and close her eyes for just a moment, slowly breathing in then out.
Her partner was marching them right into the middle of a gambling den, on the thinnest of leads—a civilian informant was pretty sure their target would be attending an event there tonight. They had nothing to back it up, and Hermione thought the risk of being caught and their cover being blown outweighed the chance of catching their man in the act of something they could use for their investigation. If they just waited a bit and stuck with the plan of observing from afar, they had a better chance of completing their mission without being found out and likely killed. Despite the rumours, she did have more to live for than books, and she'd rather not cut things short just because Malfoy thought he was invincible.
Malfoy patted her hand dismissively, saying, "Trust me, darling."
Fingers digging into his arm where her hand was tucked into his elbow, Hermione pasted an adoring smile on her face and spoke between clenched teeth. "Call me that one more time. See what happens."
"Whatever you say, sweetheart."
Hermione understood the necessity of public displays of affection, and even the intimate little moments where they looked lost in each other but were actually incredibly aware of their surroundings made sense. They were on their supposed honeymoon, after all.
But when they were simply walking down the street with no one in close proximity, the pet names and endearments had no practical use, and she knew he was only saying them to rile her up.
It's what he'd been doing since the start of their current assignment; poking her proverbial buttons, pushing and pushing and pushing until she snapped and pushed back.
With a left turn onto a side street, they'd reached the den and Hermione no longer had a chance to tear into him, so she filed it away for later when they were alone and she could give him a piece of her mind.
"Showtime, doll." Resisting the urge to hex him into oblivion with the wand strapped to her thigh, she fixed her dress and lifted her chin.
"I told you it wasn't worth it."
Absolutely nothing had come of their outing. The wizard they were watching didn't show up, and all Hermione had done was sit around watching the door while Malfoy played bloody poker and generally acted like an overgrown Richie Rich.
Slipping her wand out of its holster, she slammed it down atop the dresser in their hotel room just a tad too aggressively. When she spun around, Malfoy had tossed his sport coat on the chair and tugged at his tie, loosening it and smirking at her with an air of maddening swagger he clearly thought was irresistible.
"But it could have been."
"Bullshit. You were wrong." Unfastening and stepping out of the ridiculously high heels strapped to her feet, she gathered up her skirt and released the charms holding her hair atop her head to allow it to spill over her shoulders. She took a few steps forward to get in his face, but with an arrogantly arched brow, he sank into the upholstered chair, just out of her reach. "Prove it."
"That doesn't make sense. Do you just talk to hear the sound of your own voice?"
"Are you quite done? It's been a long night, Granger. I need my beauty sleep."
With irritation running hot through her veins, she moved closer, hands landing on either side of the chair to cage him in. "You were wrong." Her hair fell around them like a curtain when she leaned forward, trying to keep her gaze focused on Malfoy's eyes and not his stupid, chiselled jaw and full lips.
"Admit it, Malfoy." They were face to face now, so close she could brush her nose against his.
What happened next wasn't what Hermione had planned on when engaging in this stupid argument about Malfoy's lack of good sense. She thought they might yell at each other for a minute, or maybe stalk to opposite sides of the room.
Instead, before she really registered just what she was doing, her mouth was pressed to his, hot and hard all-consuming. He recovered from the shock quickly, hands catching her hips and tugging until she was straddling his lap, her dress rucked up around her thighs. His lips were demanding, somehow soft and sharp all at the same time. It was exactly what she imagined it might be like on the rare nights she allowed herself such frivolous thoughts. It was all tongues and teeth and hard pressing mouths.
It was perfect.
He used his grip on her hips to guide her closer, to press the softness of her against the hardness of him, and suddenly she wanted to get closer still until there was no space between them, until it was unclear where she ended and he began.
A clatter against the tile floor broke the moment, and they nearly leapt apart. Hermione had set her wand too close to the edge of the dresser and it had taken a mind of its own and rolled off.
Her hand flew to her chest, feeling the racing of her heart as she sucked in big gulps of air. There was space between them now, despite the fact that her thighs were still parted by his, her knees pressing into the firm material of the chair.
"What if—"
"Do you want—"
They spoke at the same time and stopped, staring at each other without blinking for a few breaths.
So in sync it was comical, their heads swung towards the bed sitting innocuously in the centre of the room. She'd complained about having to share a bed when they first arrived, but Malfoy had insisted that no newly married couple would be sleeping in separate beds on their honeymoon, and she had begrudgingly agreed.
Now, she was appreciating it for a whole new set of reasons.
"Told you." His smug voice pulled her attention back to him, and she found him staring at her with a smirk on his face.
"Malfoy."
"Yes, dear?" he asked in a tone that oozed charm, somehow making her forget how much she despised the pet names.
"Shut up and kiss me." He chuckled against her mouth, sliding his hands beneath her bum and standing, making it to the bed just before they started tearing each other's clothes off.