Cho's Chic

Chapter 9

Cho watched as Alan walked into the shop on Monday with a spring in his step. She smiled at him. "You look cheerful this morning."

"Yes, well, I spent all yesterday with John - you know, from A Bit Of The Other. And guess who hasn't been home yet?"

"Dirty stop-out," laughed Cho, delighted for him. Alan went to remove his cloak. When he returned, as usual carrying two cups of tisane, he said, "What about you? Seen either of the current men in your life?" He noticed immediately that Cho's face changed, and watched her carefully. "Well?"

She told him about the meeting with Lucius in the Walled Garden, and how scared she had suddenly felt, and about the surprise romantic apology that had followed.

"What did you say back?" he asked.

"I told him to come here at eight."

Alan was not really surprised, but he looked concerned. "Do you think he would really have hurt you?"

"I think he's capable of it, yes, if I'm honest. I think the reason he was angry was because he couldn't bear the idea of being displaced by a Weasley. I'm just so surprised that he wanted to make up. I can't imagine he says sorry very often."

Alan frowned. "Cho, my love, has it ever occurred to you that he's being nice to you with an ulterior motive? You said he's doing business with your grandfather? Do you know what it is?"

"No, I wondered about that. It's bound to be something important, though. Grandad doesn't invite just anyone to his house. There wouldn't be any point in asking Grandad though, he would never tell me."

"Well, maybe he's going to be nice to you at least until the business is done. After that, who knows? Don't look at me like that! You must have thought of that yourself?"

Cho nodded reluctantly. "You're right of course. It's just that I can't say no to him. Even when he frightened me, I still couldn't tell him to stop. I think about him all the time. I wake up knowing I've been dreaming about him."

At eight o'clock on Monday evening, Cho was in her flat, sitting on her sofa reading a copy of the Japanese story The Tale of Genji. She was wearing a long traditional Chinese cheong sam, sleeveless with a mandarin collar, with deep slits up the sides, in purple Chinese satin covered sparsely with fine embroidery in cream and white. Cho knew the story of Genji very well, and also the book was full of woodcut illustrations, so it did not matter that she only had half a mind on this task. The hand supporting the book shook slightly as she waited.

Lucius apparated suddenly with a snap. He stood looking at her. Cho saw that he had decided to wear his kilt again, although this time he was much less formal than he had been at Glen Moy Castle. He wore no jacket or sporran, and his ruffled shirt was open almost to his waist, the golden hairs on his chest catching the candlelight. His usually sleek hair was dishevelled - Cho felt sure he had artfully disarranged it. His legs and feet were bare. His right hand was behind his back. He approached Cho, and sat beside her on the edge of the sofa. Bringing his hidden hand forward, he presented her with a perfect bloom: a single rose, just beginning to open, with silky petals as black as Cho's hair.

"A token from your black hearted lover," he purred, watching for her reaction.

Cho was captivated. First the language of herbs, now this perfect representation of himself. She knew that his words were no doubt a well-rehearsed line used numerous times before, but still he used them because he knew it would have the desired effect: Lucius in penitent mood made her heart race, as she knew he would try to surpass himself tonight. She took the flower, carefully avoiding the thorns, drank in its heady perfume, and laid it carefully on the table. She saw the bandage on Lucius' hand and wrist, and asked him how he had come by it.

Lucius grimaced, and said, "It was an unintentional self-inflicted injury. It's of no importance." He glanced at the book she had lain on the table, and then looked more closely when he saw the bright woodcuts with their explanatory Chinese kanji characters. "Ah," he said, "The Tale of Genji ."

Cho was astonished. "Can you read kanji?" she asked him. He shook his head. "No, but I have seen it before in translation. I recognised the pictures. I see you are Lady Murasaki yourself tonight." He ran a languid finger down the material of the dress covering her thigh.

Cho smiled widely at him. How amazing he was. He knew that the author of Genji was Lady Murasaki, and he also knew that this was merely a nom de plume, referring to the colour purple. "You surprise me every time I see you, Lucius," she told him. "You seem to know so much. You're my very own Genji. Do you speak any other languages?"

Lucius put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her to him, and whispered very softly and lasciviously in her ear, "My dear, I am an exceedingly cunning linguist. Would you like me to demonstrate?"

Cho's dark eyes opened wide at the double entendre. She leaned back, and looked into his steady grey eyes. He was so different from the frightening man who had confronted her yesterday, here he was offering her ecstasy as only he knew how. She felt a twinge of longing from her most secret parts, and in reply she pulled his head towards her, and kissed him, drinking him in, entwining her fingers in his hair. She ran her fingers up his thigh under the kilt. When they broke apart, she said, "You're my first kilted man, you know. I like you in a kilt. Traditionally dressed, naturally," She giggled softly. "It makes access so much easier."

"Doesn't it?" he replied. "And how do I unwrap the delectable Miss Chang from Lady Murasaki's robe?" In reply, Cho stood, and led him by the hand into the bedroom. Standing by the bed, she showed him the hidden fastening down the side of her cheong sam. He undid the dress with great care, and helped her to ease out her arms. Cho wriggled slightly, and it slid to her feet. She had been wearing nothing under the dress, and she stepped out of it, standing proudly before Lucius, no longer embarrassed by her nakedness in his presence. Lucius stood for a moment to admire her, then enfolded her in his arms. She felt the softness of his shirt and the roughness of the kilt against her skin as he kissed her face and neck and stroked her breasts. He explored her body with his hands and tongue, while she opened his shirt, and rubbed her face in the soft hairs on his chest, feeling his nipples harden as she flicked them with her tongue.

He took her hand and led her to the bed, sitting her down on the edge. Cho explored under his kilt once more, enjoying the smooth skin of his buttocks, and running gentle fingers along his erect member, feeling its warmth and spreading the wetness emanating from the tip.

Lucius then pushed Cho firmly back on to the bed. "Are you warm enough lying there?" he asked, towering over her. Without waiting for a reply, he arranged the bedclothes loosely around her shoulders and over her torso. "To keep you warm while I'm busy elsewhere," he leered. He then knelt in front of her, and placed her legs over his shoulders. Cho shivered in anticipation as he ran his fingers over her inner thighs, and then kissed her in the same place, gradually working upwards towards the cleft between her legs, his hair spilling over her. He slipped a finger inside her, spreading her wetness over her lips. Maddeningly slowly, his tongue approached her cleft, then he pushed it inside her, his lips brushing her womanhood. Cho groaned as his tongue played her like an instrument. The pressure built inside her, and she thrust her hips towards him. He made her wait, and eventually licked her most sensitive part just as she thought she could not bear to wait any longer, increasing the pressure and speed of the motion of his tongue. Cho reached an ecstatic peak where time stopped, then she shook uncontrollably, and threw off the covers as sweat cooled on her body, her thoughts focused entirely on her own pleasure as she squeezed her internal muscles to prolong the moment as long as possible.

Lucius lay beside her, wrapped her in his arms, and waited for her to return, watching her self absorption. When she finally opened her eyes, he smiled at her in a self-satisfied way. Cho looked at him, her eyes darker than usual. She could not find words to tell him that he had more than fulfilled his promise to her. She smiled back at him, and stroked his hair, playing with the golden strands, and rubbing them against her cheek. "Are you ready for me now?" he asked her. She kissed him, and in answer, spread her legs apart shamelessly. He stood again, and between them they removed his clothes, while Cho teased him to readiness once more, sucking on his length and running her tongue around the head. Cho lay back, and Lucius, still standing, entered her, pulling her hips up slightly. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him into her and massaging him by flexing herself internally. Together they matched stroke for stroke, until he exploded inside her, and she felt the warmth of his seed spilling in her core. The reverberations of his moment of climax teased her to join him, and she abandoned herself to further waves of pleasure.

They lay together, satiated, entwined in the bed, on the cusp between sleeping and waking. Cho wondered if she dare ask Lucius about his business with her grandfather. She would have to be careful, but it was her understanding that a post-coital man was more malleable than normal (so long as he remained awake) and so she attempted to see whether this theory was true.

"You've spent a lot of time with Grandad Chang recently," she observed innocently.

"Yes, that's right. We've been doing business."

"He doesn't invite all his business acquaintances to the house. You're very honoured."

"I gather as much. Sun Chang has been very good to me."

"Did you spend all your time in his study?"

"Mostly, yes. But he also took me to the games room. The men of your family seem very keen on snooker."

"Yes. Grandad is very fond of snooker, and he passed it on to his sons - and some of us women play too. I play myself occasionally. Do you play?"

"No, I never have. But I'm very interested to hear you say that you can play. Will you teach me?"

Cho turned to look at Lucius. "Why do you want to learn?"

"Two reasons," replied Lucius, drawing the tips of his nails along her shoulder blade so that she shivered. He had discovered a sensitive spot on her back, and she wriggled with pleasure at the sensations from such a simple action. "One is that the game itself interests me. At first glance, it seems very simple, but then I saw there was a lot of skill and tactics involved. The other reason is that this business with your grandfather is very important to me, and he plays a lot of snooker."

"So what is this important business, then?" asked Cho, very casually. There was a silence. Lucius' nails, that had been brushing sensuously across her back, suddenly dug unerringly into her skin. She heard Lucius say, in a voice of ice, "Cho, my dear, you will not ask me about my business. Ever. Is that understood?" The nails dug in deeper. " 'Yes' will suffice," he snarled. A shiver passed down Cho's spine. "Yes," she whispered. The nails were withdrawn, and he kissed the place where he had hurt her. Cho lay in Lucius' arms, all her muscles tense, still fearful. He could change in the blink of an eye. She had crossed the line. But now he was trying to heal her again, and she did not know whether to relax into the wonderful feel of his knowing touch, or to walk away from him. Tears squeezed themselves from her eyes.

"Cho," he whispered. He breathed in her ear. His hands stroked her gently, in the same way that he had soothed the owl, Aquila. His touch was electric, how could she resist him?

She didn't.

Notes:

1. The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikubu ( 973-1016 ) of Japan is considered to be the world's oldest novel. It is set in the early 10th century and finishes in her own lifetime. It tells of the amorous adventures of Prince Genji, a Japanese nobleman. As he was handsome, accomplished, and of the royal family, Genji was able to have just about any woman he cared to love (does this remind you of anyone??) One of Genji's lovers is also called Murasaki. Murasaki means purple in Japanese.

2. kanji are Chinese characters adopted by the Japanese for their writing. Unlike the Latin alphabet, they are pictograms representing an idea, not a sound (Japanese also uses two alphabets that represent sounds). Many Chinese and Japanese kanji remain similar, so a Chinese speaker may be able to read and understand Japanese kanji, even though they may not know how to say the word.