Hermione POV

I was on fire. I couldn't think, I could barely breath. I wanted more of him, I wanted to stop, but I didn't. My mind went round and round, as much as it could in it's fuzzy and incoherent state. I felt his erection bulging through his pants, straining to reach me. But not even that could stop me from ignoring my better judgment. I kept my legs wrapped firmly around him, even as I was pulled away from the wall. He was looking into my eyes. I could see, smell, and feel the hunger that he had for me as he walked us over to the stairs, a silent question in his eyes.

"First door on the left," I breathed, and he nodded. He sat me down on my feet briefly, and I almost complained, that was...until he swept me up in his arms, and kissed me forcefully again. I didn't even care that my dressing gown had been laying on the floor in a pile. Nor did I care that somehow my shirt had managed to disappear. Even though I didn't remember it ever being gone.

When he opened the door, he moved through the bedroom at a determined pace, after he kicked the door shut again.

He laid me down on the bed gently, and crawled over on top of me, continuing where he left off, and kissing me senseless, moving down my body till his hand and lips were on each side, attached to each breast. He used his other hand to hold him upright, I appreciated the gesture, but god I needed to feel his skin against mine. I moved my trembling hands up to his chest and began to unbotton his shirt.

"It isn't fair to have me so exposed," I whined when he stopped me, and he chuckled against my breast, making me shiver as his breath hit my pointed nipple. "Please Draco," I begged. "I need to feel you against me!" that seemed to get to him though, because he let go of my hand, and didn't stop me again as I removed his shirt. When I had seen what he was trying to hide, I ran my hands down his arms, and pushed him off of me. Before he could complain, or escape from me, I had rolled over on top of him. "Don't you dare hide from me, Draco." I hissed at him, and he swallowed in uncertainty. I began kissing him down his neck and shoulder, biting occasionally. When I made it to the dark tattoo that was his shame, I kissed it lovingly. I made sure to show him that I didn't think it was dirty, or disgusting. I showed him that it was nothing but discolored skin to me. What I did made him shiver, and when I looked up, he had tears in his eyes. He stared wide eyed, back into mine and I could see the appreciation there shining back at me.

I moved gently back up his body and kissed his lips gently, slowing the pace that we had started with considerably. I pulled up again and stared into his eyes.

"This isn't how it should happen, Draco." I whispered. He nodded back. "No matter how much I want this, you still feel the need to hide from me, and I can't show you that I accept you fully in one night. I want you and I to accept each other fully, and know it before we continue this." He seemed to understand and smiled at me. I swallowed, suddenly nervous, and moved off of him. I ran out of the room quickly to grab my discarded clothing off of the floor. Throwing my shirt back on, I felt his hands on my arms.

"If you accept my faults so easily, then why do you seem afraid of me now?" he asked quietly in my ear. I turned around to look at him.

"I want what you were giving me and more. But I want it to mean something for you other than sex. Like you have said, we have too much history for it to just be thrown to the curb and ignored. And while I know that I have, I still don't know how you see me. I've always just been...a bushy-haired know-it-all to you. The brains of the Golden Trio. I married Ron because I thought I could love him one day. Have the life that we both had always wanted. I knew he loved me, so I figured things would just happen. But in my heart... I always knew that I wouldn't love him, because that's what I had always felt for you..." I couldn't look at him now. It seemed silly that just a few seconds ago, he had his hands all over me. Doing the most wonderful things to me. He made me feel like it was the first time I had ever been touched, he took Ron's hands off of me and made me feel like a woman again, and not just the schoolgirl that I always see myself as. When it comes to sex, I'm always timid. I never make a move, I never beg for someone to touch me, I let them do what they want and hope that they'll do what I need. I always end up unsatisfied. But even with so little as what I had just experienced with Draco, I felt alive. I felt a burning I hadn't known existed inside myself. And...I felt satisfied. Like just his touch could bring me to the edge, like just his touch could pleasure me enough that I would never need sex again. Even though I knew that it wouldn't be enough that long, I was satisfied with what I could get from him. Even if it meant going slow, and taking our time with each other.

I was right when I told him we needed to accept a lot of things about each other. I already accepted that at one time he had been a Death Eater. I didn't know why, and I never asked. But I also knew in the back of my mind, that his heart wasn't in it. He didn't enjoy hurting people, it just wasn't him. No matter how much trouble he caused Harry, Ron and I throughout school, he never resorted to violence. He never hurt anything but our pride. And he never laid his hands on me. And the only time he willingly caused harm to one of us was when we started it, and caused harm first. Always in self defense. I didn't know what aspects of me he needed to accept, but I knew one thing, he needed to know, and accept that I won't run away from him and reject him because of his past. I knew it already.

"I never meant to hurt you. Ever. And I can't promise that it will never happen again. I am the way I am. I'm not considerate, I don't think of people before myself. But I have always tried to keep your safety in mind. When I was forced to join them..." I knew he meant Voldemort and his followers, so I just nodded for him to continue. "I thought about only protecting you. I stopped showing an interest in any of you. I left your friends alone, and left you alone to keep you safe. But you always manage to get into some sort of trouble. I won't admit how I truly feel about you. I'm not ready to. But I need you to understand that you have always been beautiful to me. That I watched you, with whatever you did. I felt pride whenever I saw your marks in school. Proud that I could feel something for someone so smart. Your passion in everything you do impressed me, and I found myself wanting to see more of you. To know you better. I never thought you were a know it all. I saw determination. In our fourth year, I wanted to do awful things to Weasley because of how inconsiderate to you he was. And then when I saw you with Krum, I was angry. I wanted to take him on, all on my own, even though I knew a bulgarian would slaughter me in a heartbeat. But the way you looked that night, the way he stared at you, the way he would touch you at every opportunity really made me angry that I couldn't be the one who had taken you. To see you look at me the way you looked at him. I love when your angry, you have a sort of fire around you that shows everyone that you won't take anything from anyone. And anyone can tell that you are not a force to be reckoned with. You are wicked brilliant with your wand, and you know what you want. And when I saw what was happening to you with my aunt...The only reason I didn't kill her myself was because if I showed anything for you...We would both have gotten worse. I did the best I could, and didn't tell them who you were to prolong what was bound to happen. I barely fought back when Potter and Weasley came up to rescue you because I wanted them to win and get you the hell out of there. If you would have stayed any longer, you would have died. And I would have been lost without you. I won't go into that parlor because of what has happened to you. All I want in my life is to protect you. I won't say that I love you. I'm not ready to tell you what sort of feelings I have for you other than the fact that I will not stay away from you anymore. I can't. You are my everything, Hermione. And I refused to be with anyone after leaving school, because I knew I couldn't have who I wanted. Who I needed..."

I couldn't look away from him. Everything he said to me was amplified by what I saw in his eyes after each word he had said to me. I never imagined him as a romantic. And I still don't, but hearing him pour his heart out to me, there was no denying that he cared about me. And that if we didn't get to bed now, we would be up all night trying to fight our own inner needs.

"I'm not making up a bed for you, Draco." He looked down to the floor, and moved to leave. "I want you to sleep with me." He looked up shocked, but uncertain. "No, we won't do anything. I don't want to be alone. And I have a feeling that you don't either. Now, I could just be misinterpreting all of this, and don't tell me if I am or not. I need this. I am terrified to be with anyone, but just for one night, I want you to lay down beside me. At least we can pretend that we have everything under control, and that I'm not afraid to get too close."