Author's Note: Now I just have to admit that I am on a roll! *lol* I just can't help it. I started off writing chapter 8 and now I'm on to chapter 10! Hopefully this "burst of inspiration" of mine doesn't run off soon... ^_^ Thanks to all those who reviewed this fic. It had been a while since I last updated and now I know I should be making up for those many months that passed! *lol*

Disclaimer: Sadly enough HP doesn't belong to me...but the plot and other unknown characters are mine

Summary: Draco Malfoy turned a new leaf during his 7th year at Hogwarts. Now he works for the Ministry doing something for the good alongside his school days nemesis, Harry Potter. Enter Ginny Weasley, youngest sibling of Harry's best friend, as their new secretary. Hidden attraction surfaces and jealousy ensues.

Setting: 5 years after Hogwarts

~*~*~*~*~*~

X. Stuck for the Night

"Mmmm..." Ginny moaned appreciatively as she stretched the kinks off her arms, shoulders, neck, and back. She had been pouring all her time and attention towards this project Draco and Harry had to present Monday afternoon to the committee and it wasn't even halfway finished. Well, according to Draco it was almost finished, it just needed a few touch-ups here and there. As far as what Ginny could see it needed a few touch-ups everywhere!

Draco was drawn to the soft sound of her cooing. He spent the last six hours with his head and nose stuck in the numerous pieces of parchment that were now strewn all over his once tidy center table. Of course Ginny had to move the centerpiece away to make room for them to work on. They had been sitting on the floor with their shoulders slump and their necks bent, reading, writing, editing, and practicing the pitch he and Harry ought to say to the committee when they met with them on Monday.

Draco tried to lose himself in his work, occasionally letting his mind wander to the sexy siren seated across from him. Sometime during the middle of their work she pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail which didn't look bad on her. In fact the carelessness of the ponytail made her face look more lovelier and more attractive than before. She was a perfect, beautiful, enticing mess, And you better get your damn mind off her, Malfoy, if you know what's best for you, his damn conscience reminded him for the umpteenth time that day.

Ginny was still moaning and cooing across from him, stretching her arms over her head, making the fabric of her blouse press up against her chest, molding her nice pair of... Dammit, Malfoy! I said stop looking! You're going to get your eyes poked out of your sockets if you don't quit looking!

Ginny was far too busy stretching to notice that the man seated across from her was having some trouble controlling himself from full-out ogling at her. She was downright tired! She remembered putting in lots of overtime before when she just started, but today was different. Aside from doing her actual job of assisting one of her two bosses to finish up their project, she had to play interior decorator to his place as well! That was what tired her out the most, but she'd be damned if she complained about it. She loved arranging and rearranging furniture. It kept her mind from wandering off elsewhere--like thinking how hot Draco Malfoy had turned out to be since she last saw him five years ago.

Stop that, Ginny, that annoying voice at the back of her head scolded. Stop drooling over your boss. Remember, no matter how hot he is, he is still Draco Malfoy. He may be flirty and friendly with you at the same time, but you can't really trust him, can you now?

Of course she can trust him! Why else would she be here if she didn't trust him?

No, dear, that's not trust. That's lust, that voice pointed out matter-of-factly.

Well whatever it was she better snap out of it before she made a complete, utter fool of herself. Bringing her left arm to view, she glanced the time.

"Goodness! Is that the time?" she exclaimed when she saw what time it was.

Draco frowned and glanced at the small grandfather clock housed inside a crystal dome on the bookshelf behind her. It was almost eight o'clock. He couldn't believe the time time himself. It was almost eight and they still weren't nearly finished with what they were doing!

"I suppose we should call it a night then, huh?" he asked sullenly.

"Yep," Ginny nodded. "I still have to get home and cook supper," she stretched her arms one last time then got to her feet.

Draco rose to his feet too. "Why don't you just cook supper here?" he suggested.

Ginny raised an eyebrow, "Pardon me?" Did she just hear him right? Did he just ask her to cook dinner here--at his place--instead?

"You heard me."

"I know, but...huh?" she gave him a funny look. How does he expect her to cook if he served her take-out food for lunch?

Draco made a face back at her. Why do women had to be difficult?

"What do you mean 'huh'?" he frowned.

"You know what I mean, Draco. You just asked me to stay for supper and cook as well!"

"Yeah, so?"

"So? Merlin Almighty! You served me take-out lunch and I never saw you bring any homemade lunch to work. You always eat out," she pointed out.

"And your point being?" he raised an eyebrow.

Exasperated, Ginny nearly stomped her foot on the floor, but she restrained herself. Whether he was being difficult on purpose or not was not her concern at the moment. She already gave him her entire Saturday to do work (and not just work-work, but she also did some housework for him since the man couldn't clean-up after himself!), she wasn't about to spend a few more hours cooking and eating dinner with him!

"Look, to put it in terms that you will easily understand: YOU HAVE NO FOOD IN THE HOUSE! I looked inside your fridge and aside from a few bottle and cans of either pop, beer, wine, and a slab of cheese, you have nothing worth cooking in there!"

Draco was about to open his mouth to argue, but then closed it again when he realized that Ginny was right. He doesn't have a single decent thing to cook stuffed in his fridge. His lack of stored food to cook in his fridge didn't bother him before. How can it when almost every night he had some engagement or other and cooking at home wasn't really part of his agenda. Hell, today was the only day he spent so much time in his flat, no thanks to his persistent secretary who wanted to work from his place and rearrange everything to her liking before she got down to the business of finishing his presentation.

"Is that all?" he questioned, looking at the redhead pointedly. "If that's just the problem then we can always go grab something at the grocery store."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me, Ginny. If you have nothing to cook, then fine! We'll buy something for you to cook."

"You're really hell-bent on making me stay and cook you dinner, aren't you?" she said accusingly.

"Yes!" Draco nearly yelled at his very exasperating companion. Honestly, he never had this much trouble when asking a woman to stay and cook dinner at his place before.

An hour and a half later Ginny stood in front of the kitchen sink with a plastic apron on to protect herself from water splashing on her shirt. Draco was just finishing up cleaning and clearing the table by the time Ginny put away the plates and silverware they used.

"Well, I guess that's it," announced Ginny as she untied the apron Draco lent her.

Draco put away the cloth he used to wipe the table clean (Merlin! How low could he ever go? Him do some sort of house cleaning? His father would be appalled and his mother...his mother would be proud of him) and turned to his assistant, "That's it what?" he asked innocently.

Ginny made a face at him and threw the plastic apron at him. "My work here is done. I'm going home," she announced.

"Home?" he echoed.

"Yes, home," she nodded.

"But it's close to ten already!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know," she walked out of the kitchen and in to the living room to grab her purse that she deposited on his loveseat earlier. "I am in dire need of a good night's sleep! And you know you have to pay me extra for doing you this favour," she reminded him sternly.

"You know you always get overtime pay," Draco answered dryly.

"Yeah, I know, but I just wanted to remind you nevertheless," she shrugged.

"You can't leave now," he said before he could think about it.

Ginny stopped from slipping the strap of her purse over her shoulder and frowned at her employer, "Pardon me?"

"You heard me," Draco shrugged, tucking his hands in his trouser pockets.

"Yeah, I did hear you, but I'm not believing it."

"Well you'd better. It's not safe to apparate this late at night."

"It's not yet that late, Malfoy," she reminded him. "Besides, I'm so used to apparating back to my flat around this time of the night. No need for you to worry," she assured him.

"Even so," he argued. What the hell was he doing? Why doesn't he want to let Ginny go? She obviously doesn't want to stay, and he already did what he could to prolong her stay at his place. Why doesn't he want her to leave?

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Draco carefully. Something wasn't right. He was stalling her from leaving. They already did what they had to do and as much as they could do for his presentation on Monday, what more could he possibly want?

Sleep with you maybe? that annoying little voice at the back of her head suggested.

Sleep with her? Now that was a laugh! There was no way Draco Malfoy would ever look at her as another lay. He'd better not or else he'd have Harry to answer to.

"Look, I don't know why don't want to let me go, but I'm telling you, Draco, I have to go. I am not going to sleep over here at your place nor am I going to work on that presentation of yours. I already helped you get organized as much as possible and that's the extent of my helping you with it," she told him.

"I know you did what you could, but I'm still in a lurch here, Ginny," he half whined and half said in exasperation.

"Yes, you are," she agreed. "But that is not my problem anymore. You should've been in the office more often to know what the heck was going on. And I'm sorry but I can't help you any more than what I already did because Harry's been handling that project long before I started working for you guys," she reminded him.

"I know. And damn Potter for accepting this project without consulting with me first," he hissed angrily.

"Maybe he did try to tell you, but you were just busy cavorting with...was it Daisy who was your last secretary before me?"

"Don't you even dare start lecturing me on that, Virginia Weasley," he warned her.

Ginny merely raised a brow. She rolled her brown eyes skyward and shook her head. She knew there was no way she'd be going home tonight. Draco wasn't showing any signs of wanting to let her go and she was already too damn tired to argue with him.

"If I fall asleep while working, I'm not going to wake up and continue on working," she threatened him as she put her purse back on the loveseat and walked towards the center table.

Draco hid his grin. He was glad that she decided to stay. He doesn't know why he wanted her to stay really, but with Ginny around, his life doesn't seem dull and meaningless. She argued with him a lot which he never had the chance to do with his past girlfriends. Ginny Weasley had fire in her veins and he liked that fire. She kept him on his toes and his mind whirling around somewhere. She was unpredictable, that was what she was. One minute she was nice and funny and the next she was all work and seriousness abound. There was no telling what to expect from her next!

~*~

Draco watched Ginny's head lull backwards then forwards. She'd snap awake once she let her head droop forward too much. It was almost one-thirty in the morning and they had done so much work and Draco felt like he was ready to present this damn presentation on Monday.

Ginny, however, looked so beat that Draco actually took pity of her. When her head lulled forward once more and she actually ended up slumped on the coffee table with her face turned facing the window, he decided to call it a night. Since it was his fault that she was up this late and worked so damn hard, he felt it his responsibility to at least give her a decent place to sleep on.

His bedroom.

Yeah, he'd do the chivalrous way and give her his bed while he bunked outside either on the floor or on the loveseat.

Slipping his arm under her knees, Draco gently pulled Ginny's head off the coffee table and placed it against his chest. Her fiery red hair tumbled down the side of his arm as he looped his arm underneath her neck for support. Sometime during their rigorous work Ginny loosened up the ponytail holding her hair up. It looked smooth and velvety against his bare flesh. He had never been turned-on by a woman's hair before, but right now he was so damn turned-on he was amazed he was able to walk straight the small distance to his bedroom!

Ginny made a sound in her throat and slumped comfortably against him, burying her face against his chest and looping her arm around his neck. Draco gulped audibly and breathed a sigh of relief once he reached his bedroom door. He gently kicked the door open and made his way into his dark room. He knew its contours well enough to be able to maneuver without any light to guide him.

He tugged on the sheet and gently placed Ginny on to his twin-sized bed. She made a sound of protest when her back touched the cool, soft mattress, but Draco managed to ease her on to his bed without argument. She took a deep breath and turned her face the other way as soon as her head hit the pillow. Draco stood back a little once he had done what he was suppose to do. He watched as moonlight spill in from the slats of his closed bedroom blinds, illuminating the fire goddess sleeping on his bed.

In as much as he hated to admit it, he had a good time today. He always mixed business with pleasure, always, but today the pleasure he had with Ginny was far too different and far too memorable that he can't think of a better way to put it. They never had sex, but the feeling he had right now felt like he just had the best sex of his life--and he has yet to undress the girl!

Looking at the sleeping woman one last time, Draco took a step forward and bent down to plant a chaste kiss on her forehead, a habit of his that he hadn't committed since...oh hell, since he thought he was in love with Pansy Parkinson from years before! He was careful not to wake her though and gingerly stepped back to leave her to sleep in peace. What he didn't count on was to feel Ginny's hand grab his wrist just as he was straightening up. Draco looked at her face in alarm, but she still had her eyes closed, but her mouth was curved into a smile.

"Thanks for the wonderful time," she whispered softly before falling back to sleep.

Draco walked back to the living room wearing a dopey grin on his face. He felt elevated and content. He never had a much peaceful night since...God, he can't even remember when!

~*~*~*~*~

to be continued...

A/N: Oh yes! Yes! YES! I finally made it! Well actually I'm finally done this chapter! *lol* Well, what do you guys think? I know they're both kinda OOC here, but they have to act differently now that they are in their twenties. Anyways, reviews are appreciated as always. (",)

The Totally Sarcastic Sprite: here's one more chapter (",)

JT Jones: hmm...thanks for giving me an idea, but I don't think Ginny will spend the entire weekend with Draco...or will she? hehehehe

wowsergirl: Of course Draco & Ginny will get together. When will they get together? I have no idea! *lol* But for sure they'll end up together *grins*

tigereyes320: Harry's gay?! Huh? What do you mean 'gay'??? He's not gay...well, happy gay maybe *grins* Don't worry, I just don't know what to do with Harry yet at this point, but something will eventually happen next that involves Harry....*evil grin*

Jessiebear: and then some, huh? *lol* well they did do something else...eat & sleep! *lol* *winks*

Amethyst: yeah, I already uploaded the first few edited chapters to make sure that she has brown eyes. I'm so used to writing that Ginny's got brown eyes that...well, I knew I just have to change it and change the previous chapters too

fEEDLestEEx: yep, a typical guy. well sometimes guys can keep their place neat and tidy...but our Draco...well, he's the messy type, hehehehe

cosmoz: nope, this story's been sitting in the back burner for far too long now and finally I was hit by inspiration on decided to take advantage of it (",)

kriss: thanks!

fyrechild: thanks for liking the content of the previous chapter. I dunno if this one's short too, but oh well, it's all about the content and not the length, eh? *winks*

Magic Girl2: well I think Draco did well in restraining himself...but he's having a hard time letting Ginny go back to her place! *lol*

hasapi: hehehehe, of course you won't :p

Lady Phoenix Feather: I'm trying to write more, but sometimes the inspiration fairy is faulty! *lol*

Cactuskitty: hehehe, well I think I'd Do Anything will be sitting in the back burner for a while 'coz I'm gonna be a bit busy with this one (",)

Anyanka: I didn't think it would be possible and plausible to have Draco & Harry working together then add Ginny in to the mix, but hey, it seems like it's working just fine right now, hehehehehe

meLisSa: I'm trying to update as fast as I can, hehehehehe