CONTEST WINNER THIS CHAPTER: User fuzzychxrx recommended the song, "After Tonight" by Mariah Carey for Theodore & Daphne this go around, and I thought it a perfect complement to Daphne's thoughts here. So, this chapter is dedicated to fuzzychxrx - congratulations! Lyrics for that song appear at the bottom of this chapter. Hope you'll find this song somehow and give it a listen.

Remember, I'll accept song suggestions for each couple, as well as digitally manipulated images of live people and your original hand-drawn or digitally drawn fanart for this story up until the end of this fic is published. SEND ME YOUR LISTS OR ARTWORK TO: rzzmg at yahoo dot com.

P.S. Unseenlibrarian – You are a miracle worker, my friend! How you can turn things around so quickly leaves my head spinning! THANK YOU AGAIN!

Short, but an important character and relationship growth/development chapter. Necessary at this time. PLEASE REVIEW!

CHAPTER SEVEN (#3): Theodore & Daphne

Daphne's belly fluttered as she stepped up from the couch, aided by Theo's hand in hers. Silently, he led her into their private room, and with each step, despair warred with desperate hope within her chest. It was true that he had taken her virginity with love in his heart for her, and as a result, she'd achieved her greatest wish in life. So, why was she still feeling so much uncertainty?

Because nothing about the future between you two has truly been resolved, that doubting voice in her head taunted.

She knew that was an accurate assessment, and was equally as sure she would still lose everything she'd just won once the game ended, for the contract she'd signed with Carmen Zabini had been meticulously drawn and it's binding absolute; there would be no loophole to exploit, she could almost guarantee. It seemed a foregone conclusion that she would have no choice but to apprentice herself to the Sex-Witch and her partner, and to finish her training in the proscribed manner.

Theo locked their door behind them, clearly lost in his own deliberation of the situation. She stepped beyond him and further into the room and absently noted the décor and color scheme. She changed it with an abstract consideration from white to various shades of greens to help calm her mood. It matched the couch that was still looming in the middle of the room – the couch she had sat in as she'd unbuckled his belt…

Her eyes roamed automatically to the spot on the white shag carpet where they'd lain together and her nipples tightened from the residual memory of their love-making. It had been magnificent; he'd lavished great attention on her pleasure and loved her gently and slowly at first, coming into her with control and patience – the very things she'd longed to teach him in this game. Her orgasm had been preeminent, unsurpassed by any of her self-pleasuring activities, or anything she'd learned under the tutelage of her Mistress and Master last summer. He's sworn his love to her, his words piercing straight through her heart in that moment, nearly making her cry with their sincerity.

Her first time would never be forgotten. She would store a copy of it later for her Pensieve at home, so she could revisit it as often as she wished through the long years to come.

As if summoned by her stray thoughts, her lover stepped into her private space, pressing the front of his body to her back. He radiated heat; it made her shiver and pimpled the flesh on her cool, bared arms. In that moment, Daphne could intuitively feel his attention fixated on the same exact spot on the floor, and knew he was recalling their first sexual encounter as well.

Touch me again, she silently pleaded, yearning for him to somehow magically hear her. Convey me to the floor or the sofa or the bed and make love to me again, Theo. Compel me to eternally forget who I am and all my tomorrows.

Gentle fingers brushed her long, flaxen hair off one shoulder, baring it for lips and tongue to explore. His head bent to the task, his breath hot, breezing across her skin like a desert's lapping wind. Yes, like that. Begin there.

Unexpectedly, his hand reached for her card. He took it from her grasp and silently read this round's requirement:

DEED: Your partner must give you a sensual massage with a nice scented oil of your choice.

When he'd read his instructions, he tossed it away and then held his own card before her eyes so she could read it for her own edification:

DEED: Your partner must dance with you – however you want.

She nodded in understanding and acceptance of the directive, and he dropped the small, rectangular piece of laminated cardboard without another thought.

The lights dimmed a moment later, and the sound of a sensual jazz guitar and piano began playing softly in the background. There were no words to the song, just a sweet melody that lulled and set the mood. The room had, apparently, adjusted itself to Theo's mental wishes.

Her warlock did not speak as his hands rested on her waist and he sinuously swayed them both back and forth to the melody. He continued to move even as he pulled the tie of her halter loose. With a quick yank and a silken flutter, her dress slipped to the floor. Her glasses were next; he carefully removed them from her nose and, conjuring a small table to the side with a thought, placed them gently down, assuring they didn't break. The clasp of her bra was seductively undone as he ran fingertips over her back, the straps slid down her arms, the cups falling away to reveal her breasts to the chilly air once more. Enfolding her in his embrace, he fondled the sensitive mounds of flesh with his hands, working them in circles in time to the music and the movement of their bodies.

Hot teeth and lips nipped small bites and kisses along her shoulder and down her back as he bent to follow her spine, until he was forced to kneel to reach the sway of her hind. With persistent, but tender touch, he freed her of the last of her lingerie, gliding it down her thighs, over her calves, lifting each foot to free the greenish-blue silk lace.

Now that she was fully naked for him again, he traced his hands up and down her legs, even while placing nipping kisses upon her waist and flanks, her fleshy buttocks, the backs of her knees. It was done so lovingly, so assuredly that Daphne felt her heart break all over again.

Crawling around to the front, he wetly laved over her hip bones, following the dip downward into the vee of her thighs, his hands smoothing over every inch of skin within easy reach. When his tongue naughtily dipped and licked straight through the center of her pussy, she gave an inarticulate cry of pleasure. Running her fingers through his hair, she held his mouth in place as he carefully rasped across her clit with his teeth, her insides fluttering with renewed arousal. She hadn't been at all prepared to be swept away quite so thoroughly nor so quickly by reawakening desire, but in less than a heartbeat, she'd lathered his mouth and chin with her essence.

Feasting upon her with a beauty that made her control slip away entirely, her wizard spent long moments attentively sweeping and suckling upon each ivory-colored lip, kissing her quivering flesh with tenderness. His tongue lowered, rimmed the pink, oval opening of her vagina and sunk deep inside, fucking the clenching depths of her quim with slow, insistent thrusts. Did he taste himself, his sown seed saturating her moist canal? He'd been the only man to ever come inside her. If he hadn't known she'd been a virgin before, could he have deduced that by her flavor and scent now as he buried himself between her thighs and consumed her?

His thumb began to stroke in circles around her swelling, fleshy clit even as the devilish tip of his tongue found that little sensitive spot on the upper inside of her vagina and began stroking over it with deliberate pressure. The simultaneous stimulation proved too much. A whimper escaped her panting mouth as she tightened all of her lower muscles reaching for her ruin, and a moment later, she was tumbling headlong into ecstasy, devastated by him once again.

Heart beating so fiercely that her temples ached from the pressure, Daphne dropped down into Theo's arms, as he gathered her up and slid her onto his lap. They stayed like that, unmoving, holding onto each other, finding momentary respite in each other's embrace.

After long minutes, Theo sighed and, using his fine, Quidditch-honed strength, he got them to their feet. Lifting her slight weight easily in his arms, he carried her bridal-style to the bed, where he laid her down with care. They took time to assess each other in the silence, relying upon their Slytherin training to find and uproot all unspoken nuances behind their guarded expressions. "What was written in the face – in every line and curve and the amount of light contained in the meeting gaze - tells you a person's most intimate story," Salazar Slytherin had once stated in a treatise. The man had been a brilliant judge of character.

Unfortunately for Daphne, there was no hiding her despair, for its pain etched itself into the very corners of her lips and in the creases of the eyes. For the first time in her life, she was deeply, emotionally wounded, and found it extremely difficult to compartmentalize her feelings. Perhaps she had been sorted into the wrong House after all; wearing one's heart on their sleeve was the province of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, unworthy of a woman of Slytherin training.

Catching on to her fragile emotional state, shadows fells across Theo's face, darkening the sky blue of his eyes, causing his jaw to clench and his mouth to tighten. He was angry with her weakness; not that she was showing any, but that it was clear in her unspoken intentions that she had already conceded to their inevitable break-up.

With hands rougher than she'd expected, he turned her abruptly onto her stomach, and her heart clenched. What was he doing? Would he touch her with cruelty now? She knew Theo had a darker side, having seen it once in a Quidditch match; he'd been furious at being knocked off his broom by Jeremy Stretton and turned his anger on the boy, putting him in the hospital-ward for three days, breaking several of the young wizard's bones. She'd seen that fury occasionally slide through his eyes when his mood changed for the worst. But would he force himself on her, cause her pain? She'd never considered the possibility before.

No, that was an unworthy thought - Theo wouldn't do such a thing. He'd been angry last round, but he hadn't hurt her. In fact, he'd tried hard not to force her to perform her card in an attempt to show her respect and care. He'd proved himself, and the loved he bore for her. She had to believe in that.

There was rustling of fabric and the lowering of a zip behind her, and she predicted he was removing his clothing. A moment later, he was on the bed, straddling her thighs. Her heart's cadence sped up and she took a deep breath to calm the irrational panic that suddenly gripped her.

Trust him. He won't hurt you.

Warm, oiled hands smelling of orange and lavender smoothed across her shoulders a beat later, massaging gently.

He was performing his card!

The tension between them melted away in an instant, and her breath returned to its normal paces. The rush of blood in her ears receded, and she lay pliant under him, giving herself over to his tenderness, forcing her muscles to relax. He glided over her back, clearly unfamiliar with the technique of a good rub, but his effort was commendable. This would be something she could teach him before… swallowing back the lump in her throat, Daphne shoved that thought from her mind before it could finish.

His thumbs rubbed up and down her neck, working out her tension, they manipulated her shoulders and arms, kneading under the shoulder blades and loosening knots, they followed the curve of her spine down to her hips, where they discovered unexpected stress. He would stop every once in a while and reapply the oil that, she assumed, he'd conjured, keeping his hands slippery.

Sliding between her legs, he parted them further, and concentrated on her thighs, calves and feet, driving away all tightness. That task done, he slid back up her body. His breathing intensified as he neared her still-moist sex and paused, his thumbs resting right in the dip, a hairsbreadth away from parting her folds. He seemed to be struggling with inner demons as he lingered, suspended between actions.

Unable to guess his mood just then, Daphne stayed perfectly still, waiting on his decision, unsure what was the best course at that moment.

One of his hands lifted off her thigh. In the next moment, a finger softly swiped against her opening. She turned her head into the bed sheet and moaned. He repeated the action and she shuddered, feeling her womb tighten and her body prepare for her second sexual initiation.

As if reading her thoughts, Theo's knees wedged in closer, forcing her legs to widen, shifting her center of gravity. His hands gripped her hips, tilted them up, forcing her backside to fit tightly to the hard jut of his solid length. He pulled back, aligning the head of his cock perfectly, and with a single, deep thrust was sheathed within her to the hilt. She gasped at the sensation of being filled by him again; he stretched her out, bumped against her cervix, and filled her up until she rode that thin line of pleasure-pain.

As slowly as he had with his tongue, he thoroughly claimed her, careful not to bruise or to cause her discomfort as he surged into her depths, angling his stance to provide maximum stimulation for them both. The chorus of her gasps evolved into shallow, mewling wails as he raised her hips higher, changing the angle so he could pet her sex, teasingly massaging her engorged, swollen clit in circles. His hips pumped continuously through the lush heart of her, the rhythm increasing in fervor as her sumptuous arousal bathed her thighs and the curls of his pubis, making them both sticky.

Need swelled, expanded to encompass her whole being. Daphne squeezed her eyelids shut and threw herself into the great wave of pleasure. Lifting her face to the ceiling, she bowed her back and screamed in bliss. Behind her, Theo's efforts increased, his pelvis ramming against her as he took her hard, desperate. A whimper escaped his lips, and then he was jerking, spasming, shouting the roof down as he found release, too.

As the sensations rolled over her, leaving her feeling vulnerable and weak, Daphne pressed her cheek to the cool bed and fought against the tide of tears that threatened to envelop her. Her despair had returned full force, threatening to crush her yet again. Why can't I keep you? she inwardly lamented, even as a sob was ripped from her throat and salty wetness trailed down her cheek, over her nose and lips. Pursing her lips together, she tried to stifle her sadness, but too late… Theo had seen and heard.

Her lover pulled his body from hers, moved to the side and turned her onto her back. Repositioning himself between her legs, he thrust his still semi-hard cock into her and bundled her into his embrace. His mouth sealed itself to her neck in a possessive bite that she knew would bruise and he growled low in his throat, as if he understood her misery and fought to reject it.

The floodgate of her fears opened in the face of his anxiety, her tightly-held control slipped away and ashamedly, she wept into his shoulder. Theo pressed his lean, tall frame into hers as one hand fondled a nipple and his hips began moving in quick, short thrusts. Incredibly, he intended upon taking her again, his body more than able and willing. She was sated and tired, however, and her heart was too trembling and unsure to feel renewed passion.

Unwilling to accept her unresponsiveness, Theo pushed up on his palms and delved between them, seeking out her slit to coax her sexual hunger back into life. His face came into view over her, and he watched her with dark intent, the anger stamped into his features… along with some other unnamed emotion. Was that expectation? Serious in intent, he seemed to be conveying with his eyes some need from her, and the more time passed and she withheld it, the more incensed he became. But Daphne didn't know what he specifically wanted. Her inner turmoil had turned her so thoroughly inside-out, and the situation was so completely unprecedented in her experience. What was she supposed to know? What did he want from her?

As his penis hardened back to life and his shuttling became more earnest in its desire to reach an end soon, his anger became twisted by a growing despondency. Reaching for her wrists, Theo pinned them down to the bed next to her head and loomed over her, baring his teeth. "Say you love me," he begged with furious breath, tears wavering in his eyes, his cheeks rouged with temper. They were the first words between them since they'd entered the room. "I've been waiting. I've tried to be patient all round, to give you what you need, but it's not reaching you. I can feel you... slipping away from me. I won't let you! Say you love me, Daphne! Say you'll fight for us! SAY YOU WON'T GIVE ME UP!" Hot, fat tears hit her cheeks – his, not hers. "Tell me this means something to you. Tell me I do. Tell me you won't throw me away, too."

Daphne's heart officially broke in half. Sobbing, she tried to reach for him, but his weight held her down. "I do love you!" she finally yielded, her pain giving her one last burst of energy. "I love you, Theo. I have for years, and I want you more than anything in this world. But this…" Her voice broke, failed, the strength quickly draining from her. "I do not know how to give myself hope knowing that you are going to walk away from me if there is no way out of the contract. You will be the one to throw me away in the end – I know this to be true."

Stubbornly, Theo shook his head. "No. Never." He punctuated his vow with heavy surging of his hips. "You love me. Slytherin's rod, I don't know how or why, but you love me. And you're the only person who ever really has. I won't let that go!"

Loosening his grip around one of her wrists, he shoved his fingers between them again, caressed over her swollen nub of tender nerves at the top of her mound, even as his lips finally – finally! – met hers in a powerful, possessive kiss. "Come for me again," he bid around their greedy mouths and clashing tongues. "For me, sweetheart. Come on, let me feel that sweet pussy of yours fuck me back, pull me in. Show me you love me again and again and again. Show me."

Lost in the swamping desire he roused to life, she fought to find equilibrium, but it eluded her. Theo was everything just then – around her, in her. His cologne was strong in her nose, his heat wrapped her up in sultry need, and the rasp of his teeth over her bottom lip coaxed her closer. There simply was no escape from the chaos he made of her mind, heart and body.

His proclamation to hold onto what they had gave her hope, and with it came strength and belief in their fledgling, fragile love. Daphne took the leap of faith that he was as good as his word, and that he would not break her in half when all of this was over.

Take me, Theo! I give all that I am to you. I'll trust you.

His mouth ate at hers as she began meeting his thrusts. "That's it, Daphne. Fuck me back. Fuck me, sweetheart. Love me."

Her freed hand gripped his shoulder and she dug her nails in for an anchor to sanity. "Yes, oh God, yes!" she screamed as her orgasm rushed through her like a gale-force hurricane. Whipping ribbons of pleasure stung her and brought bliss such as she'd never known. Her body hummed and pulsed with it, shivered and surrendered to it.

Gripping her hips hard, Theo pull her up towards him and crashed into her over and over; they collided with loud slaps of wet flesh. A dozen passes and with a pained groan and a blast of hot air across her shoulder, he came in her again, his hips bucking against hers with each jet of his seed. He roared in completion and with triumph, having won her capitulation. Their struggle as to whether their feelings were strong enough to stay together in a permanent relationship was decided.

Collapsing against her as his release washed over him, her lover pressed his sweaty forehead against her throat. "Love you… love you, my girl," he murmured between labored breaths. Under her ear, his heartbeat raced. "Mine, all mine. Not… not letting you… go. Stay… with me. Always, always."

Daphne nodded, her arms coming about her sweetheart, holding him close to her racing heart. "You win, my Theo. I will pray for us both to find a way to stay together beyond tonight – no, beyond this week. Should that fail… I will fight to keep you. I will not give you up either."

True, it was only a trembling hope they both clung to, but for right then and now, it was enough. They had found their resolution.

TO BE CONTINUED…

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

The songs Theo chose for their mood music were all from an artist named Chris Spheeris. They were: "Eros," "Psyche," "Ahhera," and "Carino." I listened to them while writing this chapter. Give them a listen – very sensual and relaxing (and neat that he's got two songs that are this story title!).

Musical Selection this Chapter: "After Tonight" by Mariah Carey. Lyrics are as follows:

I look at you looking at me…
Feels like a feeling meant to be.
And as your body moves with mine,
it's like I'm lifted out of time.

And time again,
patiently, I've waited
for this moment to arrive.

After tonight…
Will you remember
how sweet and tenderly
you reached for me,
and pulled me closer?
After you go…
will you return to love me?
After tonight begins to fade…

I feel your touch caressing me…
This feeling's all I'll ever need.
With every kiss from your sweet lips,
it's like I'm drifting out of time.

Alone, will tell
if you feel the way I feel
when I look in your eyes.

After tonight…
Will you remember
how sweet and tenderly
you reached for me,
and pulled me closer?
After you go…
will you return to love me?

After the night becomes the day

Time and time,
so patiently I've waited
for this moment to arrive.

After tonight…
Will you remember
how sweet and tenderly
you reached for me,
and pulled me closer?
After you go…
will you return to love me?
Baby, will you return to love me?
After the night becomes the day…
After tonight begins to fade...