Chapter 28:
It was hands down, the best Christmas holidays Hermione had ever had!
Two days after the Ball at Forks High, Hermione had appeared for her NEWTs.
She'd spent the day after she'd gotten together with Edward, studying like a she-bat gone crazy, yet much to her pleasure Edward hadn't uttered one single complaint, instead kept her silent company all day and then night long.
Despite being able to floo to the ministry, Edward had wanted to drive her to and back from her exam hall every day, so she had happily relented, again sticking to her books during the long rides to Seattle.
He'd spent all his time with her, apart from the times he had to hunt, of course. And she had felt so calm with him around, that the normally stressful exam time had actually just flown by. Bound by habit, more than her need to revise, she had studied all the way till they reached the ministry offices where she was to take her tests while Edward had waited for her at the atrium, not once leaving or going too far away while she was locked up behind shut doors, writing her NEWTs.
On the last day, he hadn't driven them back home but taken her for a long drive instead. She too had opted for a drive-through McD's meal instead of wasting time at a place only one of them would eat at. And they'd simply driven further on. By the time dusk had settled, they were parked in the middle of thick foliage and were making out like there was no tomorrow!
"I just got a taste of you and then you shut off for your exams. Worst days of my entire life," Edward complained between kisses.
"We have holidays now. I'll make it up to you," Hermione promised while she returned his caresses.
The next thing they knew, they'd fogged up the windows of the car pretty well and yet neither was anywhere close to feeling satiated. Feeling restless instead, Hermione had turned Edward's car into a portkey and transported them, car and all, in smack-dab-middle of her living room!
It hadn't even occurred to Edward to question her about it as he'd lifted her off the car seat, uncaring of both their clothes that were splattered across the floor of the said car and thrown her on the first flat surface he could – the coffee table in the sitting room, and proceeded to ravish her.
It had taken them a good long three days to come out of the whole 'starved-for-your-touch' phase, only to realize that they'd both missed all the celebrations of Christmas! Not that they had cared…
On New Year's eve, Edward had insisted on starting their celebration early and Hermione in turn had insisted that for them to have a nice, happy new year, they did indeed have to welcome it with a bang!
And that was how, a mind-boggling week later, on the re-opening day of their new term, they both found themselves in front of Forks High again.
"Honestly, you two, get a room!" Alice smirked their way after deboarding Jasper's car only to find Hermione pressed between Edward's silver Volvo and the vampire himself, while he thoroughly ravished her mouth, not letting her get a word out. The position quite clearly chosen to hold Hermione in, the place chosen to keep people out. Well, tough luck!
"You know I want to," Edward cheekily replied to his sister, while holding Hermione still with a tight grasp on her waist.
"But you can't!" Hermione said, her tone laced with warning this time. "We talked about this, Edward. You know I don't want Bella to find out about us this way. She needs to hear it from you. You speak to her in Biology today, get her to understand and then…"
"And then can I, how do you Brits say it, yeah, snog ya' thoroughly in the cafeteria?" Edward teased, faking a plush British accent.
For reply, Hermione blushed furiously, her eyes going all wide.
"Well, the last time you were here, I had the most unfortunate luck to catch every guys' thought about you and trust me, I only wanted to rip them all apart for it!" Edward growled in remembrance, "and while this," he slipped open the top button of her shirt, pulled the collar aside and kissed their mating mark, a habit he'd cultivated without even realizing it, "means a lot to me and every other person in your world, here no one understands its importance and I just want, no, I need everyone to know you're taken. Completely off limits. ONLY MINE."
Jasper, Alice and Hermione chuckled after hearing Edward's passionate possessive rant, the other couple shaking their head and leaving to give the new one some privacy. An opportunity Edward did not want to lose but his mate bate him to it. "Come here, you."
Hermione pulled him by his collar, getting his face level with hers and they ended up kissing right until the bell rang to signal the beginning of the first day of the new term in the new year!
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Hermione blushed furiously as Edward pressed harder into her, flattening her against the wall behind her. Given, it was an empty corridor, but it was still their school! Their first day back in the new year, no less!
"Edward," she whispered, gathering her reserve before she lost all coherent thought.
"Hmm…" he hummed in response, already busy kissing her neck.
Groaning, Hermione arched her neck, giving him better access, making him chuckle as she tried to word her complaint.
"I told you…. not here… in school…. like this… too many…. will see… we shouldn't…"
"Don't care," Edward retorted, slipping open the top two buttons of her shirt. Crooking his finger in the opened slit, he tugged at her collar exposing their mating mark and kissing it repeatedly.
The hands that Hermione had splayed against his chest in an attempt to keep Edward away, fisted and clutched at his shirt, pulling him towards her as her mind was losing the battle against her body's wishes.
Edward grinned wickedly in triumph, bending his head to kiss the top of her creamy breasts that were exposed to him. He ran his cold thumbs over the taut nipples pressing against the fabric of her shirt, aching for his touch, demanding his attention, which he was only too happy to lavish on them.
"My girls are begging for me," he breathed huskily in Hermione's ear, then ran his mouth over her jaw, kissing his way down again.
"Edward please… we're at school… anyone could walk in on us…" Hermione tried one last time before surrendering to the pleasure she knew Edward would bring her, something even she was craving now, despite the given setting.
Inspite of knowing Hermione was losing her will to fight, Edward suddenly stiffened, his hands re-doing Hermione's open buttons and straightening her clothes at vampiric speed as his head shifted in the direction he'd heard a harsh breath from. His angry golden orbs clashed with hurt brown ones before Bella recovered enough to hastily dash away from them.
Shit! Edward groaned in his mind. This was exactly what he needed. NOT! To have his suicidal ex watch him seducing his mate! Shit! He punched the wall in his frustration, cracking the tiles there.
Hermione looked up at Edward with questions racing in her eyes and mind.
Edward gazed into her eyes that had been clouded with desire not twenty seconds back but were now clear and curious. He wrapped his strong arms around her tiny form and lifted her clear off her feet before melding their mouths together.
"You know I love you, right?"
Hermione nodded. "And I you."
He flashed her his crooked smile and kissed her again. Then, intertwining their fingers he walked with her towards the cafeteria.
"So, are you going to tell me who it was that walked in on us?"
He half smiled. She was just too smart and quick for her own good. "Bella," he answered, seeing no point in keeping anything from her.
Hermione's steps faltered. The one person she did not want to wave her relationship in front of, had seen them plastered to each other. She knew Edward thought of her as a friend and would feel responsible if she did anything untoward.
"You don't think she would….?" Hermione thought in her mind, bringing her shields down for Edward to read her mind and she held his eyes, to use her legilemency on him to continue their conversation where no one at school could eavesdrop.
"I honestly hope she doesn't… but I'll have Alice keep an eye on her none-the-same."
"You do that," Hermione offered him a small smile of her own.
"Has anyone ever told you, you're just too compassionate for your own good?" Edward chucked while shaking his head.
"Almost every day of my fifth year. And these days I sometimes hear a rant from Draco about the same," Hermione smirked.
"Still, not many would care about the old flame."
Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "I trust my boyfriend. Not to mention, he thinks of his ex as his friend and who am I to judge him on that? I'm still friends with my exes."
"What do you mean boyfriend?" Edward asked with a scowl. "And what's this bit about exes, as in plural?"
Hermione grinned like a Cheshire cat who'd stumbled upon a can of cream, "Our relationship. Or did I dream the whole dating bit?" she asked feigning innocence. "And exes as in the two guys I've dated before you."
This time, Edward backed her into the wall right there on the busy corridor, uncaring of being seen by anyone. Hermione had talked him into keeping their relationship under wraps for Bella's benefit but now that the cat was out of the bag with her, he'd be damned if he didn't show his girl off to everyone.
"Our relationship," he halted for effect, "is so much more than mere dating, darling. It's a binding of our souls for all of eternity," he whispered softly near her ear, pushing his hand inside her collar and circling his bite mark there with his cold fingers, making Hermione shiver, before rounding his hand around her nape to angle her head just right. "And I don't want to hear another word about any of those gits. I'm the only one you'll ever know that way. The ones before me don't count and I promise you there'll be none after me," he said against her lips and crashed his mouth to hers, taking her in for long, hot kisses that he broke only because the shuffling behind them turned into loud cat calls.
They broke apart to look around them and Hermione flushed scarlet before burying her head in his chest in embarrassment and Edward pulled out his aces on vampiric allure, settled the noises around him with one blinding smile, hypnotizing all the humans around them as he let Hermione disengage from him and walked with her towards the cafeteria, hand-in-hand.