Author's note: A lot of smut (like… a LOT), swearing, sexual content, implications of infidelity… hope you enjoy haha xoxo

Chapter 5

Somehow Hermione found herself back in Draco Malfoy's study, this time her legs tucked underneath her as she enjoyed sipping on fine firewhisky. They sat in silence, but they had only just stopped talking in depth about the possibilities and dangers of mixing magical potions for the muggle world. A subject they both seemed genuinely interested in, of course because it was Malfoy's job and Hermione saw a lot of illegal potions in her line of work.

Surprisingly, Hermione felt quite at ease in her plush armchair, lightly conversing with Malfoy. It was a nice break from the stress in her life.

"What happened between you and Weasley then?" Malfoy asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. A silent dare to answer truthfully.

Hermione thought about her answer. "A lot of things," she confessed, downed her drink and carefully placed the tumbler down on the table between them, buying herself time while the liquid burned in her throat. "We were very young when we got together, inexperienced." She shrugged. "We stayed together for a couple years, but it faded out."

Malfoy was looking at her, staring, his grey eyes boring into her soul. Hermione blinked and looked down. "Hmm," was his answer and he sipped his whisky. "Did he cheat?" He glanced up to see her reaction. She kept still, but her limbs did stiffen.

"Can I get a top up?" She asked as casually as she could.

Malfoy nodded and got up, picking up her glass. She glanced at his back as he filled their glasses, wondering what had brought that question on. He had removed his jacket and was standing in an impeccable shirt, his tie discarded on the armrest of the sofa. She watched his movements, slow, schooled, calm. He turned round and she didn't even attempt to pretend she hadn't been looking. He walked over and handed her her drink, tilting his head to the side in slight question. She took the glass and their fingers touched. She pretended like the hair didn't rise on her arms when it happened and took a quick sip.

"How often do you have someone in here then?" Hermione asked when he was a safe distance away, settling back down on the sofa opposite her.

Malfoy grinned, "You mean for a nightcap and a conversation or something else?" He watched her blush and chuckled. "Not often. You get the special treatment Granger."

Her brows furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged. "I'm good at reading people, and amazingly I know you feel at home surrounded by books. So I thought you would be more at ease here than anywhere else."

"Do you do a lot of this seducing thing?"

"No, as I said last time they usually try to seduce me," Malfoy said, uncuffing his sleeve and rolling it up just above his wrists. Then leant back with his arm leaning on the back of the sofa. "How often did Weasley seduce you then?"

Hermione couldn't help but scoff. "He wasn't much of a seduction type. But neither was I."

"You haven't been seduced before Granger?" He said with a mischievous grin.

Hermione shook her head. "Don't."

He chuckled. "Fine, fine." He raised his hand and then leant over the table to take his glass and he made eye contact with her. "But I'm sure you're curious."

She pursed her lips.

"You don't like not knowing," he said matter of factly.

"And you know what I like, do you?"

"I told you, I'm good at reading people." Malfoy kept her eyes and then deliberately licked whisky off of his damp lip. Hermione fought every urge within her to glance down at his mouth. But she couldn't help the swallow.

He was right, she was curious. But she was also cautious.

"I'm confused," she confessed, setting the glass down and moving so her legs touched the floor, no longer tucked underneath her. "Why are you even interested? The last I knew you hated me, or were at least indifferent to me," she amended.

"Just like people have some kind of fascination and curiosity about me, same goes for you."

"You have a fascination with me?" She said, smiling teasingly.

"Forbidden fruit and all that, right Granger?" He said, gesturing to himself.

She laughed and shook her head. "What's it like being so full of yourself?"

"It's called being confident. You should try it sometime. I'm sure it would look very good on you." He got up, walking over to her chair. He nicked his head to gesture for her to get up. Which she did, losing her balance slightly with how close he was standing and the whisky in her system. "So what will it be Granger, are you curious about what it's like to be seduced?"

Hermione took a breath to stabilize herself, looking at him. "It's just so weird though." She let out a breath like a laugh.

"How often have you been asked out on a date?"

"Many times," she said defensively.

"And how many times because you're Hermione Granger?"

She pursed her lips. "Fine," she said. "Show me your 'moves' then."

He smirked. "Will you be able to put aside who I am?"

She shook her head. "Probably not, this is super strange."

"Close your eyes," he said and his voice had taken a different tone, soothing almost.

Hermione swallowed her nerves down and closer her eyes, feeling herself stiffen with nerves. She could feel his breath, smell it, smell the whisky from in front of her. He wasn't moving, he wasn't saying anything and she was getting more insecure by the second. Then all at once she could feel his heat, feel his presence. He was standing up against her, she jumped but stayed in place. His hand touched the outside of her right arm, softly caressing up to her shoulder. The hair was moved behind her ear. Hermione bit her lip, trying to focus on the feeling of his presence, the feeling of his warm hand against the nape of her neck. But nagging at the back of her mind was that it wasn't just anyone, it was Draco Malfoy. And it wasn't just any date - she was being forced to be here. She felt like she shouldn't even be allowing this because it wouldn't be ethically right.

"Malfoy?" She said hesitantly, her voice coming out as a whisper.

"Yes?"

She swallowed. "Do you always seduce women while they're blindfolded?"

He laughed. "I thought if I spoke my voice would put you off."

She smiled tentatively, keeping her eyes closed still as she was afraid of looking into his face so close. "I think it's weirder that you're not speaking. But at the same time-"

"You're about to go into a rant," he said, stopping her. "You're thinking too much. I'm good at reading people, but Granger you are a closed book most of the time with things that are close to you. See, I could touch you here," he said while moving his knuckles gently over her cheek. "And tell you how tempting your lips are, but then that might be too sweet. Do you like it rough and graphic, Granger? Would you like me to tell you how hard I would fuck you against that bookshelf?"

She couldn't help the shiver that shook her spine. But she kept quiet as his hand moved to her chin, his thumb touching her bottom lip.

"Or maybe you like the chase," he continued. "Or you prefer something more direct, someone grabbing you and kissing you before you get the chance to overwork that wonderful brain of yours."

"Who seduces you, Malfoy?" She said, taking a daring step in their little game. There was a silence and she imagined that little smirk toying at his mouth, creating a tiny dimple in his left cheek.

"Oh I'm sure anyone could seduce me, the real question you should ask is how." His thumb let go of her lower lip, and she felt his touch move past the nape of her neck and into her hair. "You keep worrying about who I am and who you are, but this isn't romance Granger, it's lust. Two very different things. Sure they can be intertwined, but between you and I?" He grabbed at her hair and her breath left her in surprise as her head tilted back. She could feel heat move throughout all of her body, flooding her cheeks in a blush and heating her chest. "I think it's raw," he continued, speaking right up against her parted lips, his breath ghosting across them. "Untouched, unfiltered."

Hermione licked her lips, slowly, leaving her tongue out to linger against her lower lip. She opened her eyes to look at him and felt a rush of satisfaction as she saw his eyes focused hungrily on her lips. She took in his face, unbiased this time, took in his features without the context of their history. His skin looked softer to the touch than she would have thought before, smooth with slight dips between his eyebrows - worry lines. His once sharp features were angled now, a handsome jaw, a straight lined nose. It struck Hermione that whatever this man had looked like as a boy didn't matter anymore, for right now, right this second he was a handsome man. Someone Hermione would probably think out of her league if she saw him at a bar. Then his eyes shot up to lock with hers and she swore she saw the grey darken to steel.

She could feel her resolve weakening, the doubts fading away. Because she never allowed herself to just let go, did she? Always thinking, always worrying. Her brain never shut up. Couldn't it be good for her to just feel, be reckless and instinctive - impulsive.

She swallowed her nerves and decided to do a little bit of seducing herself. She trailed her eyes down from his to rest on his lips, she lightly bit her bottom lip and looked back up to see his eyes fixed down. As she released her lip she took a breath and in a deep hum, a sigh she softly said - for the first time - "Draco."

Hermione had never felt as powerful as she did in the moment she saw his eyes widen, saw his pupils literally dilate, watched as his throat bobbed on a swallow, and knew instantly that she had an effect on him. His breath fluttered faster against her face and she wondered how long they would be in a standstill. The thought crossed her mind that this feeling, the anticipation shivering through her bones, would always be the high point - the inevitable kiss would most likely be a let-down. Wasn't that always the case? With Ron it had been the covert looks, the crush and the pining and hoping he would look at her the way she had wished he would. Then when the inevitable happened it had been… good. It was pleasant, but not earth shattering. So in Hermione's mind, in her reasoning, there really would never be anything that shook her to her core, because her imagination always created something better - something so perfect and impossible to replicate.

So rather than expect something more, some kind of explosion of betterness, she enjoyed the moment, the breaths they shared, the stare they held, the heat flowing through her body.

It was like he was waiting for something. She hesitated, wondering if it was her turn in their little game of seduction. Cautiously she dared her limbs to move, and her hands moved from her sides and up. It was like wading through water, fighting a resistance that seemed to only live within her. Her hands reached his sides, touching him for the first time, then moved inward and she hooked her nails against his hard stomach, feeling it clench underneath her touch. His exhaled breath moved across her face and she saw his eyes were tightly closed now, his hand in her hair seemed to slacken, no longer holding her head but rather gently nestling it.

Hermione pushed down all the thoughts of how weird this was, she punched down the worry, the doubt and let herself just feel - like he said - the unfiltered lust between them.

"What I want," she said in a whisper, catching his eyes again as they opened. "Is to hear you say my name like a prayer, like I'm your only salvation."

"Fuck," he said, barely escaping between his lips.

"I don't want to think, or doubt, I want to feel." She lowered her hands and grabbed the top of his trousers, pulling him closer. "You're right that it's lust, I've never given into it like this before," she confessed. "But for once I want to be bloody sinful." She watched him swallow and thought about taking the plunge, throwing caution completely to the wind: "I want you to fuck me, Draco. I want to be the name slipping past your lips when you cum, I want to-"

His hand on the back of her head had found new life in pulling her towards him and their lips finally met in a searing kiss that seemed to set her whole body on fire. She took it back, fuck, nothing had ever felt so good. The anticipation was nothing compared to the feeling of his lips against hers. It was like static electricity, pulsing with their lips as they moved against each other, nipping, lightly opening, trying to find a rhythm. But when his lips parted and his tongue sought hers Hermione was a goner. She moaned and reached up to tangle her hand in the small bit of hair at the back of his head, pulling him in closer, wrapping an arm around his neck. She pushed up on her tip toes so he wouldn't have to bend too far down to meet her and felt a fire low in her stomach that she hadn't felt in much too long. His arm wrapped around her, they were locked in such a tight embrace Hermione was surprised neither of them was hurting. Her head felt fuzzy and dizzy and all she knew was that his mouth tasted like promises, his body felt like comfort, and her want was turning into a need fast.

He held her close, almost lifting her as they stumbled towards the wall, her back colliding with a bookcase but she couldn't care less. Her hands were exploring his hair, sliding down his chest and stomach. She tugged the shirt out of his trousers and delved her hands underneath to touch his bare stomach. He let out a sort of groan, his stomach hardening at her touch, making her want to touch more of him so she could hear it again. Her fingers explored lower, toying with the button low on his stomach.

"Hermione," he said in a sigh, still kissing her and she felt all of her resolve go away. With a flick his button was undone and she was pushing the fly down. "Fuck," he said against her lips, moving to kiss her cheek and down her neck, his fingers swiftly unbuttoning her blouse. Hermione gasped for breath, a tingling sensation moving from where he kissed her neck all the way down to her toes. His lips felt like magic.

Once he had her blouse unbuttoned he opened it and touched her stomach, repeating the movements she had done on him, letting her get a taste of her own medicine - she wasn't complaining. Her fingers moved to unbutton his shirt until she could no longer reach them when he moved his kisses down her neck and collarbone to her chest.

"You taste amazing," he said against her skin. She let her hands move to his hair as he kissed the skin just above the lace of her bra. "Decadent, fucking glorious."

Hermione laughed, smiling. "Is it always like this?" She asked out of sheer curiosity.

"No," he said, pulling one of her cups down and licking her nipple immediately.

"I guess I should feel special," she said with a light smile.

He chuckled against her, sucking and pulling her nipple before straightening up and looking at her. "If you want." He leaned down and captured her lips again, but this time it was gentle, it was brief and Hermione felt her legs turn to jelly. He pulled away, stepping back and looking at her. His shirt was half unbuttoned, and Hermione enjoyed looking at the bit of his chest she could see. He was breathing heavily, and so was she. He shook his head, ran his hand through his hair and walked back to the sofa, taking his tumbler up and downing the rest of it.

Hermione hesitated, fixing her bra back over herself, looking at him. The heat slowly dissipating and the worry creeping back in.

"You stopped," she said, half question and half statement.

"I had to," he said, looking back up at her as she made to walk closer. "Talking about it is all well and good, but we both know you don't really want me to fuck you Granger. You'd regret it. And I'd really prefer not to see that regret on your face after the passion I just saw." He shook his head again, as if he could see it in his mind again and was trying to get rid of it.

"But," she said, hesitating. "Wasn't that the point?"

"Regret?" He said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"No," she let out a slight laugh, shaking her head at him. "The fucking," she said gesturing between them. "You're backing out?" He shrugged. "Wow," she said. "I never would have thought Draco Malfoy would shoot down an offer of sex. How was my first seduction then?" She started rebuttoning her shirt.

"You're a natural," he said, his eyes trailing her hands as they did the buttons, as if he were regretting stepping away and letting her cover up again.

"And yet you were not seduced," she said, smiling lightly to hide her disappointment. She sat back in the armchair, looking at him.

"I didn't say that." He was still looking over her as if she were something for him to devour. He took his eyes off her, rubbing over his face. "Why were you at the Cambridge Granger?"

"What?" She furrowed her brows, confused about the studden change.

"I've never seen you there before, and suddenly you appear there twice just as my meetings finish? Looking like you didn't want to be there in the first place. So what gives?"

"I told you, I had a date-" She began but he cut her off.

"Despite what you might think, you are an awful liar. Why were you trying to meet me?"

Hermione was speechless. "You…" She couldn't comprehend this. He had been suspicious of her but tried to mess with her anyway. Was he pretending this whole time to have fun? "Whatever my intentions, with your suspicions you still did that." She gestured to where they had been pushed together against the bookshelves. "Was that just something you did for fun? Toying with me like a doll?"

"No," he said incredulous. "Don't pretend like you aren't using me too for something Granger, I just don't know what you're using me for yet."

"I'm not using you!" She shrieked, offended. "You're the one that invited me here and kept trying to ask me about seduction. If anything we could have just gotten to know each other normally and been-"

"Been what? Friends?" He said, standing up. "In case you haven't noticed, you had to literally close your eyes to let me anywhere near you. You had to imagine someone else in front of you to stomach the feeling of my hand against your skin. Sure you feel comfortable here, I made sure of that didn't I? You can pretend like I set all this up to seduce you to do whatever I wanted, but I can't force you to feel what you feel right now Granger. So I'm going to ask you again, why did you seek me out and how did you know where I was going to be?"

She hesitated. He knew when she was lying. So instead she pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "You are despicable."

"Answer the question," he grit out.

"What are you insinuating?"

"That someone sent you to spy on me, possibly. Which is strange, but that must mean there's something in it for you. I doubt they would offer you money, you don't seem the type to care much about that. Especially considering your current field of work."

"How dare you-"

"Maybe some kind of opportunity, or power would be more interesting for you. Is influence what you want Granger? Or to accelerate your climb through the corporate ministry ladder?"

"You're unbelievable," she said, standing up in a huff, putting her shoes back on. "You think I came here to do what exactly?"

"Get my money, get information, steal from me maybe," he said with a shrug. He still hadn't buttoned the front of his shirt and the fabric bunched up against the open fly of his trousers. "Get information on my company. There's a lot of things I have that would be valuable and perhaps powerful in someone elses hands. What did they offer you Granger?"

"Fuck you Malfoy," she shot at him. Grabbing her wand and apparating home.

When she landed her whole body was shaking. What on earth just happened? She looked up and saw Harry walking into the living room from the kitchen. His brows furrowed at her as if he were asking her the exact same question. Hermione had buttoned her blouse wrong, her hair was a mess and her lipstick gone completely.

"I almost slept with Malfoy."

Harry's mug of hot chocolate dropped and shattered on the floor.

Author's note: There's no point apologising anymore x) I'm making you guys wait for every chapter and I have no valid excuses. So I hope you can forgive me. At least it was less than a year between chapters this time XD (plz don't kill me). I would really appreciate reviews they are always so lovely and wonderful 3 Thank you for coming and reading this story it means a lot.