A/N: Alright folks, buckle up! There are six chapters left (including this one) which means three more weeks of updates! ENJOY!

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TWENTY

Kingsley was in her office first thing Tuesday morning when she returned to work. He came to ask for help with some vampire negotiations in Romania and would need her to leave right away. She had taken it without asking her usual laundry list of questions. What she needed was a way to get out of the office and he had presented the perfect opportunity. The fact that she was to stay out of the country until Friday was icing on the cake.

The best part, she realized upon getting her bearings after traveling via portkey was that she would be staying with Charlie. It had been far too long since she had seen him and it gave them the opportunity to catch up. She got to know his wife a little better as well as their twin girls.

Her mission was simple enough. The consulate was in the process of negotiations with the local covens. They were trying to come to an agreement. One that would give the vampires the food source they needed without resorting to human sacrifices and in return, they would stop wreaking havoc on the local humans and their subsequent livestock. Since she had helped write the proposals for the vampire covens, they let her take the lead.

And when her days were over, she was able to see the developments Charlie had made with the dragons. He had asked for her advice on more than one occasion on how best to approach the Ministry for aide. His ideas were always solid, but it was his wording that she helped him with. In return, he answered any and all questions she had about his work.

Needless to say, by the time she returned to the Ministry Friday afternoon, she was even more grateful from the distraction. Being gone for a few days had been exactly what she needed to help get her out the funk she had put herself in since holing herself up in her flat Friday after the Leaky. She had spent the weekend dodging Ginny's attempts to come over and ignoring her owls.

Hermione had made her choice, but she wasn't ready to talk about it.

About how she had led Ashton outside the bar and then told him that she couldn't go away with him. That she liked him and he was special, but he wasn't the wizard for her and she didn't want to string him along anymore. He had been upset, sure, but he wished her well and said he would be in touch about the television program when they started rolling out testers.

Then, instead of going to the flat to meet Draco, she had just gone home.

She wanted to go. She wanted it more than anything, but she wanted to have a clear head when she went. The Sober Up only did so much and he had put her emotions through the ringer. She wanted some time to think it over. She knew he had told her if she didn't show up, he would consider it her answer. She also knew if he was serious about what he said, they could talk about it after she'd had some time to process.

But even three days of locking herself into her flat hadn't been enough time to process. She had only found herself in an endless loop of what-ifs. Ultimately, she needed to talk to him again. There were still answers she needed and getting those would be the only way to put her mind at ease. Whether their talk resulted in taking that next step for them or gave them both better closure, she would welcome it. The problem was that each time she made to Apparate to the flat, she would psyche herself out again.

Which only led her to wonder why the Sorting Hat had ever put her in Gryffindor.

After delivering her reports to Kingsley, she went home where she currently found herself pacing her living room. All the good the week had done for her while away was fading away rather quickly. With a string of curses under her breath, she tightened her hold on her wand and Apparated to the flat without giving herself a chance to talk herself out of it again. She had expected the flat to be empty, for her arrival through the wards to alert Draco and then he would meet her there.

She had not expected Draco to be sitting on the couch with his feet up watching the television while eating takeaway.

He stared at her mid-chew as she looked around, realization dawning on her. "Do you…" she started. "Do you live here?"

She set the container on the coffee table and turned off the television. He got to his feet and turned to face her, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. "If I say yes, are you going to yell at me?"

She could only stare at him for a moment before a shudder erupted down her spine. "What if someone had come to visit you when I was over?" she asked. Her eyes went wide and she nearly choked on her own spit. She shuddered again and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh gods," she groaned, thinking back to the day she had waited sprawled out on his bed with the Ben Wa balls in her core. Her thighs clenched in response. "There were plenty of times when I was waiting for you, Draco. Waiting and fucking naked!"

Her eyes narrowed even further at the way his lips twitched and his gaze quickly swept down her body and then back up. He cleared his throat and wiped the smile from his face. "I don't have a Floo connected here. My wards only allow for you, Nixie, and myself. Everyone else has to use the front door and no one has a key but me. So I assure you," he said, taking a few steps forward, his pupils widening. "No one but me was going to see you."

She swallowed and took a step back, shaking her head to clear it. She waved her hand in the air and huffed. "Still, you should have told me."

"You would have said no."

She pinched the bridge of her nose and counted to five. "The point of having a flat to meet at was that so it wasn't part of our everyday lives."

He did grin that time. "You said you didn't want it to be at your flat or the Manor. You didn't say it couldn't be my flat."

"Merlin's beard, Draco. I'm sure another flat wouldn't have been that hard to get. Nor would it have been an inconvenience to your vault."

He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, surprise. I live here," he said. "Now that you know, would you mind telling me why you've come over unannounced?" His eyes glanced over her shoulder for a moment. "Does Ashton know you're here?"

She held her breath for an extra second and then let it out slowly with a shake of her head. "No, he doesn't," she said and rushed on when his lips parted to speak. "And he wouldn't know because I haven't talked to him since I broke things off with him on Friday outside the Leaky."

His jaw remained open as he stared at her. His grey eyes shone with triumph and his arms unfurled to hang at his sides. She saw the apple of his throat bob when he swallowed and he took a small step forward. "You didn't go out of town with him?" he repeated, the words rolling off his tongue with disbelief.

"No," she replied with a small shake of her head. "I did not."

He studied her for a moment and then frowned. "But you didn't come here either."

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I'm here now."

Draco took another half step forward, causing her to tilt her head back slightly in order to maintain his gaze. "Why now?" he asked. "Why not a week ago?"

"Because I wanted to have a clear head when I did. Because I need answers from you and had I shown up that night, you know just as well as I do we wouldn't have done any talking."

The smirk that took hold of his lips made heat rise to her cheeks.

"Any productive talking," she amended before he could say something that would make her forget herself.

"Fair enough," he said after a moment. He tucked one hand in the crook of his elbow as the other hand reached up to stroke his chin. "What would we have talked about, Granger?"

Her lips parted with the intention of asking everything she had carefully listed in her head. But the longer she stared at him, the longer those answers seemed frivolous. It really didn't matter what had happened before. They had both made mistakes. He had kept things from her, but he had also been honest about what he really wanted on more than one occasion. It was her who ran from everything. And not just from Draco, but from everything.

She didn't want to run anymore.

"You said you wanted more than Hedone and Kratos. More than dom and sub. Do you still want that? Even if it's me? I'm not-"

He was right before her, pulling her flush against him as his mouth slanted over hers. "You could lose all your magic right now and I would still want you. I'm sorry that I ever gave a fuck about something so stupid as blood status, Hermione. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about Astoria" His lips continued to brush over hers as he spoke. "I've wanted you for a long time. Hell, I was yours before I knew it was you under that mask and I want to keep being yours until it's you that doesn't want me."

She smiled against him and wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers threading through his platinum locks. "I want you. All of you. Just like you said," she whispered back. "I'm sorry I was too stubborn to admit it. That I fought you the whole way." Her lips quivered against his as they drank each other in. "I'm scared."

"Why?"

"Because I've never wanted anything so badly in my entire life," she admitted, tightening her arms around him. "I'm scared that it's all going to fall apart and I don't want to get hurt."

"The war's over, Granger. The only thing standing between you and I is… Well," he laughed. "You and I." She laughed with him for a moment before he spoke again. "I know what it feels like to lose you now, Granger. I won't be making that mistake again. I can't promise the road ahead won't be rocky, but I promise to be by your side no matter what lies ahead."

"And if-"

His teeth caught her bottom lip and she whined. His tongue was there to soothe the bite a moment later. "If you're determined to think of worst case scenarios, that's all we're ever going to have."

She bit her own lip, her tongue swiping the skin to taste him. She moaned low in her throat and fought the urge to lean in and devour him where he stood. "You're right," she breathed. "Gods help me."

"We're doing this, yeah?" he asked, his breath having increased.

"Yes," she rasped out without hesitation. "Yes, Draco. I-"

He cut her off with a kiss that left her breathless. He devoured her the way she had just tried to hold back from doing to him. Her body molded to his and she could feel his arousal twitch against her abdomen. She gasped into his mouth as he lifted her by the hips, her legs wrapping around his. "Can we skip to the part where you let me fuck you or are you going to ask me to take it slow?"

"I-"

"You have about three seconds to-"

"Fuck me," she whined, grinding her core against his cock. "Please, Draco. I need you."

With her coiled around him and their lips locked so their tongues could continue their duel, he marched them down the hall to the master suit. There was no preamble as he set her on the edge of the bed, leaning over so he didn't have to break their kiss. The cool air of the room alerted her to the fact that he had vanished her clothes and when she pulled away to settle herself on the center of the bed, she saw he was just as bare as she was.

He crawled after her, but not over her. Instead, he settled himself between her thighs. He didn't stop or give any warning and she cried out when his tongue ran the length of her slit. Her body bowed off the bed as he flicked at her clit. She reached down to thread her fingers through his hair as he continued his assault. Her hips bucked and she whispered his name on repeat as he pressed two fingers into her core; working them in tandem with his tongue.

She hadn't wanted the sex to be her only reason to be with him, but fuck it if it wasn't high up on her list of pros. As he continued his ministrations, knowing exactly what it took for her to come in record time, she was glad they weren't entering this from the beginning. They didn't have to spend time learning each other's bodies and fumbling through awkward moments. If she really thought about it, she might think they knew each other's bodies better than their own.

Her cries sounded around the room when she came for him, but he didn't relent. He continued to suck her clit between his lips as well as stroke it with a broad tongue while his fingers curled to find that spot within her walls. She hadn't even finished her first orgasm before she felt herself careening into another one. Only when her thighs clamped around his head, quaking in the aftermath, did he carefully extract himself and settle over her.

His lips found hers and she reached around him, her palms lying flat on his shoulder blades. His forearms bracketed her head as her legs wrapped around his hips once more. He didn't even need to push forward to slide into her dripping wet center. They both sighed when he bottomed out and he wasted no time in setting a pace of deep and powerful thrusts.

It wasn't long before he found the spot to deliver the best friction. The moment she started to feel the familiar coiling in her core, she shattered beneath him. Endless cries tumbled past her lips as he came with her, groaning incoherent babble of his own into her ear from where their cheeks were pressed together. Just like before, he hadn't stopped. Instead, he slowed the pace to draw it out for both of them and pulled back to smile down at her.

"Gods I nearly forgot how fucking perfect you are."

She moaned loudly and pushed upwards, rolling them so that he was on his back. She took control rather quickly, relying on his hands at her hips to keep her steady. She rocked back and forth on her knees as she leaned over him, hands on his chest. The last time they had been together; the last time she had watched him as he came for her, she had been memorizing his every move. She wanted it etched to her memory because she knew it was the end.

This time, it felt like the beginning of something. It was terrifying, but it was thrilling too. A part of her had wanted it since she had met him as Kratos. For weeks she had wanted to take a risk and ask for more, but when she finally got it by connecting the dots, she thought it had been over. But that was a start too. One that she didn't think would lead to this chapter of her life, but as they came together again, calling for each other, she was more than ready to see where it led.

Hermione collapsed on top of him, their skin fusing together from the sweat their little workout had caused. There was a right mess of slick between her thighs, but she was too comfortable curled up at his side with his arm around her to care. She could clean it up later.

It took some time for their breathing to regulate and their bodies to relax, but even then, they retained the comfortable silence that settled over them. Both of them had wandering hands that skimmed over whatever part of the other they could reach, leaving gooseflesh behind each time. It was when her eyes started to grow heavy that a small bubble of anxiety began to rise.

"Draco?"

His hold tightened ever so slightly. As if he were afraid she was going to leave since it was the routine they'd developed. "Hmm?"

"Can I stay the night?"

There was a pause before he chuckled and turned so that she was on her back and he propped up on his elbow looming over her. His other hand stroked her cheek as his lips brushed hers. "Was there any part of you that really thought I was letting you leave this bed tonight?"

"What if I have to pee?" she asked with a laugh.

"Exceptions can be made, I suppose."

She kissed him softly and then wriggled out from beneath him. "I'll be right back," she promised and hurried off to the loo.

When she returned to the bedroom, he was beneath the sheets with half of them turned down and ready for her to climb under as well. She did and he wasted no time curling around her back with one arm tight over her middle while she used the other as a pillow. Even their legs twined together. His lips met her shoulder before he moved his face to the crook of her neck.

It wasn't long before exhaustion crept up and her eyes refused to stay open. Completely wrapped up in Draco, she drifted off to sleep; a smile so wide she wondered if her cheeks would hurt in the morning.