Disclaimer: The usual disclaimer applies. Please don't sue me...I'm just having fun here. J

Author Notes: This chapter is dedicated to my awesome beta, Aemos, for her untiring coddling of my fragile ego. She never fails to make me blush, giggle, and float around on fluffy clouds all day long from her comments.

I also want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed so far. I really appreciate everything you have to say. Thank you!

Chapter 3

Their eyes locked again, this time fear sparkled in both.

"Oh" he trailed off, some of the old bravado fading from his face. "I apologize Miss Granger."

Hermione gulped a few times before any sound could escape her lips.

"It's okay Professor," she said, smiling lightly up at him. "You would have had to do it no matter what. No reason to be squeamish is there?"

~Squeamish? Squeamish! Don't be a fucking liar! You want him to do it!~

He stared down at her a moment, impatiently brushing a lock of damp hair out of his eyes before speaking.

"Alright. But I'm going to finish your other leg first."

She closed her eyes and sighed as he touched her leg and began stroking slowly down, then up her thigh. She couldn't help but squirm a bit at that, trying to pusher her leg up into greater contact with his hands. He pushed down on her leg to still her.

"You must lie still, Miss Granger," he whispered.

She frowned and nodded, too embarrassed to open her eyes.

Within moments he had finished her leg and she could hear him dip his fingers in the paste, then rub them together. She tried desperately to calm her pounding heart. No doubt he would feel it when he wasshe felt the blush creeping up her cheeks just thinking about it. In less than two seconds he would be touching her breasts. She shiveredboth in fear and anticipation.

"Ready?"

She opened her eyes and looked up, locking her gaze with his, fighting back some of the fear floating to the surface.

"As I'll ever be," she said lightly, trying to infuse some humor into the situation.

He blew softly on his fingers to warm the paste, then slowly reached down. Hermione closed her eyes and held her breath.

He lightly scooped up the drop of paste, then slowly ran the fingers of both hands over her collarbone, then straight down along the strings of her top. He scooped up a bit more of the paste, paused, then ever so lightly ran his fingers up over the exposed curves of her breasts, moving in short strokes over the hot flesh.

Hermione could not stop the gasp that escaped her parted lips, nor could she stop the rapid beating of her heart. She opened her eyes a slit and looked up at Snape. He didn't noticehe was gazing down at her, watching the movements of his hands. All of the guards he usually wore were let down for the moment and he simply looked peaceful, despite the slight furrowing of his brow from concentrating on his task. He ran his fingers ever so slowly along the very edge of the cups of her top, then sat back on his heels and took a deep breath.

"Well, that's it," he said, wiping his hands on a towel. "Just lie still until I come get you."

He picked up the cauldron and towel, then walked out of Hermione's line of sight. She heard the small 'clink' as he deposited the cauldron into the kitchen sink, then water running into it. He walked around behind her, then she felt him pushing a small pillow under her head. She opened her eyes and looked up into his glittering orbs.

"Thank you, Professor."

He nodded, then stood and walked through the doorway to his bedroom.

~What a strange day. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined running into Professor Snape. And what about that body? Holy Gods above, that man knows how to take care of himself!~

She heard the steady spray of the shower coming from the back of the cottage and sighed.

~He's naked right now...naked...I wonder what he's hiding under those shorts... I'll bet it's delicious.~

The warmth and throbbing was starting low in her belly again. She was practically salivating for the man but could she do anything about it? No. Did the Professor feel any of the same things for her? Probably not. Had she known that the object of her lust was presently releasing a stream of viscous white liquid onto the shower wall with her name on his lips, she might have simply thrown caution to the wind and joined him. But fate, it seems, really does have a wicked sense of humor.

~*~*~

~Where the hell is he? It's fucking freezing in this place and the floor is starting to feel like a bed of nails!~

She risked a glance at the closed bedroom door and glared. It had to have been more than fifteen minutes by now and the bloody shower was still running! All of the men she had known were out of the shower in five minutes...ten tops. But could Snape be anything like them? Oh no, he had to make her lie there, covered in a paste that was rapidly bringing her body temperature down while he enjoyed a nice, hot shower.

~Since when does Snape shower? You never would have known it from the state of his hair in school. It always looked as if an entire Quidditch team had dunked his head in a basket full of dirty, sweaty towels.~

Hermione frowned, thinking about what he had looked like that evening on the beach.

~Sure his hair was wet, but even wet you could tell it was clean. Maybe he just doesn't take the time to bother with it during the school year... I wonder what it feels like? It looked so silky...just imagine what that hair would feel like on your inner thighs, Herm...~

She smiled lightly, a small shiver running through her body and making her toes curl. Heat began to flood through her again with that train of thought, even making her forget the scratchy carpet she was lying on for the moment.

~Wait a second! This is Snape! Bastard Snape! The man who successfully made my school days a living hell!~

She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling.

~But I'm older now, and much wiser. I imagine if I was put in his position and had to teach a group of dunderheads who didn't care about learning I would be a bastard too... Wait a second! Did I just use the word 'dunderhead?'~

She laughed out loud at that, unable to control the tremors that shook her body as she laughed.

"As amusing as I'm sure the ceiling is, Miss Granger, you don't need to lie there anymore."

Hermione sat up straight at the sound of his voice and whirled around to face him. He was dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a short-sleeved, blue button down shirt, his wet hair pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

~Oh, wow... Blue is definitely his color. If the man ever wears black again, may the Gods strike him where he stands.~

"You're free to leave, Miss Granger," he drawled, leaning casually against the doorframe. "Unless of course you would prefer to stare at me for the rest of the evening."

~Yes, please.~

He smirked at her from across the room.

"I realize how difficult it must be for you to realize that my robes aren't permanently sewn to my body."

A small snort of laughter escaped between her lips.

"Of course, Professor," she said, getting slowly to her feet to test the effectiveness of the potion. Her skin didn't hurt at all. She looked down and blushed, realizing that she was clad in only her bathing suit.

~It sure didn't bother me when his hands were all over my body though, did it?~

"Um, Professor," she began, shifting uncomfortably in front of him, "where are my things I had with me at the beach?"

"Still there," he answered. At her gasp of outrage he merely chuckled. "Relax, Miss Granger. We are the only guests on this part of the beach and it has only been a little over half an hour since you left. If, by some strange twist of fate your things are gone, I will gladly replace that silly muggle device you had attached to your head."

"That wasn't a silly muggle device, that was my CD player!" she exclaimed. "And that CD player just happened to hold a copy of my favorite Pink Floyd CD!"

"Pink Floyd?" he asked, coming to sit on the couch. "Completely insane group of wizards."

"Completely...what? They were wizards?"

"Of course!" he answered, lifting an eyebrow at her. "Do you honestly think anyone but a wizard could have done the things they did? Created the music they did? Matched an entire album to a movie about a wizard the way they did? Though I will admit, their view on wizards was preposterous."

"Well I...I suppose not," she said, chewing her lip thoughtfully. A smile suddenly appeared on her face. "My dad is going to be so disappointed. He fancies them godly."

"Really," he said, picking a scroll up from the coffee table. It was obvious he didn't care.

"Well, I suppose I should leave," Hermione said, wringing her hands in front of her to keep from strangling the git.

"Yes, I would so like to enjoy my vacation without having to nursemaid a student."

~That's it! Gloves off!~

"Excuse me, Professor, but I never asked you to nursemaid me, and I certainly never expected to run into you here!" she exclaimed severely. "In fact, I came here to escape from life and everything I had known, but could it be that easy? No. Could I just forget for a moment the torment you put me through at school? No. You may think you're the only one who needs to escape, Professor, but you're wrong!"

She turned and headed toward the door.

"Thank you for making the healing potion. I hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation." She turned back to look at him. "Alone."

She stared pointedly at him a moment longer, then turned and walked out the door.

~So much for a changed man. Nursemaid, indeed!~

She kicked roughly at the sand, gasping in shock when it all came flying back in a great sheet and sprayed her body, sticking to the paste still covering her from head to toe.

"Son of a bitch!" she yelled, brushing vainly at the sticky granules. She could feel eyes on her and turned back to Snape's cottage. He was standing with the door open, laughing heartily at her predicament. She smiled sweetly as she flipped him the bird, then stooped down, gathered up her things from the sand, and trudged back to her own cottage.

"Jimmy Buffet," she growled, kicking the door open then shut behind her. She threw her things down in the entryway, then stalked into the bathroom for a nice, long shower.

She emerged a half-hour later wrapped in a giant blue towel, her wet hair hanging down to the middle of her back. She kept envisioning Snape emerging from the shower wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, his skin glistening from the water, his hair hanging over his shoulders in dripping waves.

~Why can't I get the stupid sod out of my head! I need a nice, stiff drink. That'll get him out!~

She picked up a brochure sitting on one of the tables next to the bed and flipped through it. It was full of different restaurants and bars in the resort.

~Hmm...This one looks good. 'Atlantis Bar and Grill. Dinner, dancing, and the best margaritas on the island.' Perfect...~