A/N: Ooooh, look at how quickly this chapter came out after the last one. Your reviews mean so much to me, thanks to everyone who takes the time to leave a few words after reading.
What Are The Odds?
"You have a current Muggle Passport, right?"
"Yes," Draco couldn't help rolling his eyes. Of course he owned a current Muggle passport. International business mogul and all. No, he didn't use it to do the actual traveling piece, he'd managed to avoid flying on airplanes thus far; he used it upon occasion when out in the Muggle sections of other countries.
"Ok, we'll need to go to Gringotts to get some Euros. Can you meet me there tomorrow during my lunch break? I have appointments at 10:30 and 1:00, so sometime in between?" she asked.
"I will see you there at noon. When are you planning to actually tell me what adventure you are taking me on this time?" he questioned with a raised brow and small smile.
Hermione pulled a book out of her bag and handed it to him. "Read this tonight, and tomorrow I'll answer any questions you have," she told him with a smirk. Draco rolled his eyes, again, because of course there would be a book involved. And she expected him to read it all in one night.
"Scarne's New Complete Guide to Gambling?" He read the title and flipped it over to glance at the back.
"No questions until tomorrow."
Draco wasn't worried about it. Whatever she planned for this coming weekend, he knew it would be interesting.
Draco was familiar with gambling. What Slytherin wasn't? Most of his housemates had money to burn, and winning, at anything and everything, was something they all lived for. Betting on Quiddtich became passé by the time third year rolled around. Betting on who would blow up their cauldron in potions (Goyle, Finnigan, and Longbottom were perennial favorites), wagering on what would be served for dessert (invariably some witch would be dared to bet on Spotted Dick by a friend, just to have to say it aloud), progressing to laying odds on who would be caught snogging (or more, by the time they started fifth year) in a broom cupboard on Saturday night, and then after finishing Hogwarts, on who would marry whom, on who would fall pregnant first, and so on. Draco still had hundreds of galleons worth of open bets, one of which went back a decade (if Pansy ever did decide to marry, a sizable pot had grown regarding the outcome), while others were more recent; he or the other party awaiting the fruition of the wager. But, this book boded for something completely different.
Draco sauntered up to Hermione as she waited on the steps outside of Gringotts. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and asked, "Shall we, love?" as he crooked out his elbow to her. The Goblins immediately recognized both, negating the need to step into a queue, offering instead a private room, with the only question posed being if they both needed to see their account representatives, or just one of them.
Hermione always felt the smallest edge of nervousness when inside the bank. She couldn't place her finger on whether it stemmed from the shudder-inducing memory of wearing Bellatrix's skin, or the fear of being buried under a pile of gold inside a vault, or the recollection of the terror of climbing onto a dragon's back. None of the goblins treated her any differently than any of their other high value clients, as far as she could tell. Draco assured her he couldn't see any difference either; she still knew the fact that she stood the only witch in history to successfully rob the bank was out there.
Both Draco and Hermione withdrew sizable sums from their vaults in the form of Euros, and made sure the special credit cards linked to their vaults, usable at Muggle establishments, were in order. While all wizards and witches could request some kind of card linked to their account if they chose, the cards Draco and Hermione carried were in fact Dubai First Royale Mastercards - making life very easy for them. They walked back out 15 minutes later and Hermione turned to Draco to ask, "What sounds good for lunch?"
"Something light, my dinner tonight with the French ambassador will probably entail far too much heavy food and wine."
"Oh, you poor thing," she laughed.
"Actually, yes I am feeling a bit put out since you won't be there with me. I hate attending these things alone," he pouted.
"Well, I can't very well not attend a charity event when I am on the board, can I? Ugh, our lives are far too complicated. I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Ready to make some guesses? Or rather, some bets on what we are doing?" she giggled at her poor attempt at a joke while Draco just raised an eyebrow at her.
"Let's eat at that little Greek place. They have plenty of light options," he said to get them back on track.
It was only a few doors down, so they quickly found themselves in front of the young witch at the host stand. She made no move to be subtle in her perusal of Draco's form. Hermione couldn't blame her for looking, Draco looked particularly delectable in his tailored charcoal slacks and light grey button-down shirt, with the cuffs slightly rolled up, his hair somewhat tousled from the light breeze outside. She rolled her eyes at the obviousness of it. Draco pretended not to notice as the woman faced them while talking, but as soon as she turned to walk them towards their table, Draco looked to Hermione and winked.
"Monte Carlo," he said without preamble as the hostess walked away.
Hermione sighed. He was too smart for his own good - admittedly one of her favorite things about him.
"What I can't figure out is when you would have gone there? And no, don't worry, I haven't ever been there," he confirmed.
"Harry, Ron, and I went there about a week after Harry turned 18, the summer after the war ended, about 3 months after the final battle. Eighteen is their legal gambling age. It just felt like the three of us needed to do something. Something different, something fun, something to end our summer on a good note. It started out as Ron's idea - something he heard about from Bill and Charlie."
The server arriving to take their orders cut off her narrative.
Draco ordered a traditional Horiatiki Salata, made without lettuce. Hermione decided on a dip combination including Melitzansalata, Skorthalia, and Tzatziki served with veggies and pita. She knew Draco would end up picking at hers, so hopefully it wouldn't be too much.
"You read the book, right?" She asked once they were alone again. He nodded. "Well, then you know the variety of games one can chose to gamble on is very different than the side bets wizards place on Quidditch. It is structured, and you cannot use magic to cheat. So, get that out of your head right now. We can try any game you would like once we arrive. I'm sure you'll find a favorite or two. We all did on the first trip. For Ron, it was blackjack. Tell me what you learned about blackjack from the book."
He hated it when she went into "teacher mode" and his exasperated sigh made it abundantly clear. Yet, he knew the only thing to do was work through it as quickly as possible, otherwise, she gnawed like a dog with a bone. "Blackjack, also known as 21, is a card game in which you are playing against the house, but you also have variables created by the cards being given to the other players at the table. The object is to have your cards add up to less than or equal to 21, while also adding up to more than the house's cards. There is always a card face-down for each player and the house, while the rest are face up. Deceptively easy because anyone with the ability to add can play it. I am sure the Weasel used strategy regarding which table to sit at and then on where to sit at the table, and also the odds of any card coming up to excel at it?" Draco loathed admitting that Ronald Weasley excelled at anything, but he also saw it as unintelligent to deny a clear truth. The wizard was the best strategist Draco knew.
"Yes, and possibly card counting too," she conceded. "Which is also against the rules, so if he did so, he was too good at it to get caught and he never told us either way. You did see the part about card counting in the book?"
Their food arrived and they immediately offered tastes to each other. She took a sip of her water and jumped back into her tale, "Ron walked away with quite a bit of money. Remember, this was merely months after the war ended, so we didn't have a lot to spend to begin with, but Ron had the least. He used most of his winnings to buy into the joke shop with George. Strategic move, huh?"
She smiled at the memory. Draco cleared his throat to remind her she should keep on talking. In about another twenty minutes she would have to be back in her office.
"Ok, so I jumped around a lot, I couldn't seem to decide what I liked. And then I found the craps table. Everyone treated me so nicely, and it was fun to roll the dice. I spent the rest of the first night there and then the next day and night too. I didn't win a lot of money like Ron did, although I went home with more than I had to start. Did you understand the chapter in the book on craps? It has so many different bets you can place, and you can place as many at once as you want."
She paused to push her plate to his side of the table; she was done and he kept on asking for "just one more bite". Right.
"I think I may need to watch it for a few minutes first to feel comfortable with it," he answered her earlier question.
"And then there was Harry… Harry took a liking to roulette. Ron and I teased him endlessly about being an old lady. I told him he was boring, just sitting there picking red or black or the number seven because "it's lucky". Ron couldn't shut up about the lack of odds in his favor. Too bad he didn't listen to Ron, he lost every knut he took with him. Well, technically he lost every Monegacque Franc he took since it was the Muggle currency at the time, before Euros, you know. And before Gringotts offered Muggle credit cards. Merlin, what a nightmare it used to be to travel when every single country in Europe required you to switch currency," Hermione went off on a tangent. This time server appearing with their bill that broke her out of the rambling.
"One last thing you need to know, and it probably is the most important thing. There are video cameras recording just about every inch of a casino, twenty-four hours a day, as well as hallways and the lifts. The only real privacy is in the public loo or in your hotel room. The Muggles use these cameras to make sure no one is cheating at any of the games. They are also for security, since there are large amounts of money changing hands, and going to and from the bank constantly. Do not try to cheat in any way, you will get caught. And no using magic anywhere public. It would be a nightmare for our ministry to try to make the video recording of the magical use disappear. Understand?" She appeared very serious through this part of her explanation, so Draco gave a tight nod to show he understood.
"I'll miss you tonight," Draco murmured in Hermione's ear while standing outside the restaurant as they gave each other a quick parting kiss. "Good thing Harry will be there to keep me company."
"I'll floo over to your place tomorrow night after I finish packing. Make sure you pack your swim trunks, some casual clothes to wear in the casino or if we go out around the city, some comfortable shoes, and formal attire for dinner both nights," Hermione listed off.
Draco knew he asked for trouble when sitting next to Harry Potter at any function like this. The man had a way with sarcastic asides; often meaning Draco would choke on food or cough champagne bubbles into his nose at least one time during the night. Harry possessed perfect comedic timing, and would only say his dry, witty comment loudly enough for Draco to hear. Which sometimes left Draco looking like a fool as Harry innocently patted him on the back, acting the part of the fucking Savior he was. The alternative of not sitting by him was to not only end up hopelessly bored for hours, but also to be jealous of whomever sat in his place laughing their head off.
"Wait, Hermione told you that she won a little money and had a fun time playing craps? That's it?" Harry's eyes were a little wide and his jaw slightly slack. He tilted his head back a let out a barking laugh, his body shaking. His loud mirth drew looks from the tables around them. "Oh, that's rich!" He finally managed to gasp out as his laughter died down and he wiped an actual tear out of the corner of his eye.
"She was an instant addict! She wore kind of a sexy little red outfit on the first night… Don't give me that shitey look. As soon she stepped up to the table, all the men noticed her - offering to help her learn to play. The table attendant even bent over backwards to make sure she was comfortable with the game and gave her some hints. Of course, it helped him in the long run since a full and happy table meant more tips for him. Soon a crowd of onlookers gathered - three people deep - around the table, chanting and cheering for her when she rolled. When she wasn't the roller, men kept on holding the dice up to her lips, asking her to blow on them for luck. The table ran hot for a couple of hours straight. It was pandemonium."
"Then the dice went cold. Lots of people left, but not her. She felt sure she could win back what she was starting to lose. A couple of single guys waited, ready to either celebrate with her or commiserate with her, whichever the case may be. They hung around getting closer and chummier with her as the crowd thinned. All the free alcohol didn't help matters. Ron and I had to drag her back to our room in the early hours of the morning. When we woke up, she was gone, already back down at the tables. And that is pretty much where she spent the entire day. People usually have trouble pronouncing her name, but two days in a row, I watched people yell it out perfectly as they pumped their fists in the air, I watched at least five different dirty old men purr it at her as they held dice for her kiss; one bloke even handed me a room key, 'to pass on to your friend, Hermione, in case she's lonely later'. Blech." Harry gave a little involuntary shudder.
"She had a pile of about 20 room keys to other men's, and one or two women's, rooms when we checked out. Which we were barely able to do, because she wanted to fit in just a couple more hours at the tables. Don't let her near the craps tables, if you know what's good for you, mate," Harry finished the most unlikely story Draco ever heard. Which said a lot, considering Draco's past. Another question occurred to Draco now,
"What do you mean by free alcohol?"
"Draco, I'm here," rang out Hermione's voice as she stepped out of the fireplace in his flat the night before their departure. She quickly charmed off any soot before she stepped away to walk into the hall.
She set her suitcase next to his already packed one by the front cupboard, took off her shoes, and left them next to it. She started towards the kitchen.
"Draco?"
"I'm on the back patio, love."
"I see you're all packed. Did you remember everything I told you to pack?"
"I am not sure why you had me pack anything at all, since from the sound of it, we probably won't make it any further than the casino floor once you get to the craps tables."
"Oh gods, Harry opened his big mouth, didn't he?"
Draco just smirked at her.
"Look, I promise it won't be the same. It will be different because we're together. I won't need the attention of the other men there, like I felt I did then. It had been over a year since I last felt like a woman at that point in my life. It wasn't the gambling per se, rather the pure sexual energy running through the crowd. The power," She gave a breathy moan, obviously remembering the feel of that moment in time.
Draco suddenly stared at her very intensely. In a flash, he was up out of his chair, pacing towards her, pinning her against the patio wall. "Are you telling me you got off on all of the attention?" he asked as he lowered his head and grazed her neck with his lips and tongue.
"Yes…" she lowly groaned.
He worked down her collarbone, pausing to nip at her as he whispered in a husky tone, "They were all staring at you, worshipping you, wanting to touch you like I touch you."
"Yes…" she whimpered as he quickly lifted her shirt over her head and leaned down to suck an already hard nipple through her lacy bra.
He stood up straight and pushed her skirt up around her waist, exposing her lacy knickers that matched the bra. He began to grind his straining erection against her damp core. She lifted a leg around his waist and pushed back against him, looking to create some friction. He let out his own moan.
"You took their room keys and gave them hope you would chose to go to one of them later during the night. You never planned to go with any of them, but they didn't know, and you could still fantasize about what it would be like if you did."
"Oh gods… Yes!" she exclaimed as his hand snaked down between them and into her knickers to begin to rub through her slick folds and up to her clit. He quickly started in on the rhythm and pressure he knew she liked.
Her hands had been running up and down his back, now they dropped to his belt, quickly undoing it and then undoing the button on his trousers, followed by the zipper going down. His trousers dropped and she palmed his hard member through his boxers, rubbing in time with his fingers on her. Both were panting now.
He stopped his ministrations on her and she keened at the loss. Draco swiftly yanked down her knickers followed by his boxers. He positioned his cock at her dripping entrance, then stopped to look her in the eye.
"When you have all that power again tomorrow, who are you going to be fantasizing about now? What will you be thinking about when other men are trying anything to get your attention? When your knickers start to get soaked from the sexual tension around you, what you are going to expect to relieve that tension?"
"You! Draco, please…" she begged.
And he obliged, sliding into her in one long stroke, pulling up her other leg at the same time to wrap both around his waist. And then he began to set a brutal pace against the outside wall of his flat, not caring if someone might be able to see them. Truthfully, it would be nearly impossible based upon the location of his flat.
"You. Are. So. Fucking. Hot," he gasped each word out one at a time between thrusts. He managed to change his grip on her enough so he could once again get a finger against her clit. As his thumb rubbed her, she began to say his name over and over like a mantra.
"So close, so close, Arghhhhh…. Draco!" She yelled, her back arching, pushing her breasts even tighter against him as she dug her fingernails into his back. He felt her orgasm wracking her body, her warm slick walls gripping over and over around his cock.
As she came down, he stopped his movements long enough to step out of his trousers and to walk her over to the sturdy patio table, large enough to seat 8, while still keeping himself buried inside her with her legs tight around him. He lay her down on her back, pulled her legs back from around his waist and placed them up on his shoulders. And then he started up again, going deeper this time than he had been able to in their previous position.
Hermione watched Draco's eyes turn molten silver; the pupils blown wide with his lust. She reached up to pull her bra cups down, grab her breasts, and began to pull her nipples between her fingers, working them as he watched her breasts bounce in time with his hips.
"You just love to put on a show, don't you?" he rasped out. She didn't answer, but not because it wasn't the truth. She just couldn't bother to be coherent right now. He could see the answer in her eyes anyway.
He was getting close now, yet refused to let go until she did again. It seemed she read his mind when she stopped rolling one nipple to let her hand travel down to pleasure herself. That was it for him as his balls tightened up and he grunted out her name. As he came inside of her, he felt her fall over the cliff with him and her walls clenched in time with him, perfectly milking him.
When he was spent, he stayed inside as he leaned his sweat covered body down gently over hers. He licked his way up her now salty neck to her ear and gently nipped her earlobe before he whispered in it,
"Don't forget this tomorrow night."
Then he pulled out with a small hiss, grabbing her hand on his way to standing, and pulled her up with him. They stood there momentarily and she went up on her tippy toes to give him a searing kiss, before reminding him that their portkey left early in the morning and they should get some sleep.
Hermione woke up earlier than her alarm due to Draco's head between her thighs. Normally, she hated missing out on even 15 minutes of sleep in the morning. She could make an exception for this. His tongue was doing wonders to her clit. She whispered, "Brilliant," as he added fingers thrusting into her. He crooked his fingers perfectly against her inner wall and she began to buck her hips in time with his hand. She knew words were coming out of her mouth, but wasn't sure what ones. "Draco" and "yes" definitely were in the mix as she clenched her eyes shut and exploded.
When Hermione next opened her eyes, it was to the sight of Draco kneeling up straight between her legs, his erection prominent and the end glistening with a large drop of pre-cum. He had the most self-satisfied look on his face regarding what he had just done to her. With a smirk, he showed her his fingers dripping with her juices. He lowered the hand to his cock and spread the wetness on himself with a couple of strokes. Then he stopped, reached forward into her to swipe up more of her cum on his fingers and he once again spread it like lubricant on his cock. He repeated this a few times, until his dick glistened. He proceeded to wank, never breaking eye contact with her. She whimpered at the sensual image in front of her, part of her never wanting it to end, part of her wishing he was inside of her with that thick cock instead. Soon, he was urgently thrusting into his hand; she could see his abs tightening, clenching, as well as his bollocks pulling up.
"Come all over my breasts," she instructed. He rewarded her bossiness. The first spurt actually hit her chin and neck as he yelled, "FUCK!" The next two landed where originally directed, and the final one drizzled more onto her stomach.
"Good thing I have time for a shower," she quipped. He joined her and made her earlier wish come true too.
Once dressed, they grabbed their suitcases and floo'ed to the international portkey office at the British Ministry of Magic. Hermione walked up to the wizard at the desk to check in for their reservation; he handed her a chipped ceramic fox.
Monte Carlo, Monaco was pretty much all Muggle, with a very small, yet extremely wealthy, wizarding population scattered throughout the city. The city didn't boast a separate magical district; the nation of Monaco's Ministry of Magic office was located on a single floor of a Muggle office building, mixed in with Muggle businesses. All other magical businesses were scattered throughout the city. Any building housing a wizard business had strong notice-me-not and anti-Muggle charms set on them. If a Muggle even briefly registered the magical bookshop next to the clothing store as they walked in, they thought they saw a couple of dusty books, with titles which looked to be horribly boring, displayed in a grimy window, and they felt no desire to shop there. The wizards and witches in Monaco long ago came to realize that even the wizarding tourist trade in their country was for the Muggle casinos and the beaches, so only stores necessary to meet their own magical needs existed.
The ministry official in Monaco who greeted Draco and Hermione when they arrived in the portkey drop-off area offered them a map with the locations of all of the magical shops, in case they needed it. They declined the offer as Hermione put the ceramic fox into a special basket for future repurposing. Walking outside, they hailed a taxi and asked to be taken to the casino where they would be staying for the next two nights.
"The official language here is French, but everyone also speaks English. And most people speak Italian, as well. The entire country is only a little over two square kilometers. The coastline is about 4 kilometers long. There are only about 37,000 residents in the whole country. Besides gambling and the beaches, the other main tourist attraction is automobile races. There aren't any going on right now, so we can avoid that hassle and the additional crowds," Draco listened to Hermione rattle off facts and information with one ear, hoping there wouldn't be any questions to answer, while he stared out the window.
Huge, beautiful, yachts bobbed in the harbor. Draco had been thinking about buying a yacht for years. He fondly remembered the one Blaise's family kept in Italy. He just didn't have a good place to keep it, and wondered how often he would even use it. Yes, he could keep it in Italy or Greece, he owned properties in both places, although neither were presently equipped for housing a yacht. He mused on his options while imaging Hermione lying on the deck of a boat in a tiny bikini enjoying the Mediterranean sun.
They arrived quickly at their destination. Draco paid the cab driver, while the bellhop took their suitcases. The reservation was under Hermione's name. She pulled out her passport and credit card for the desk attendant. Draco loved to watch her reaction to being fawned over when people saw the bank name on the card. Hermione had not grown up like Draco, with wealth beyond measure and a last name commanding respect amongst wizards in many countries, although her parents were quite wealthy in their own right. But, the type of service that came with their implied status when they carried this Dubai Bank card amazed to her, and she wasn't even famous in the Muggle world, unlike in the magical one. The attendant immediately upgraded the room to the most luxurious suite currently unoccupied. Champagne and light fare would be waiting in their room. Hermione declined needing anything else.
"Let's go up to our room, get settled, have a drink and a bite, and then we can explore the casino."
"Sounds good to me. Did I hear correctly, we have dinner reservations at eight?"
"Yes, I figure if whatever is in our room now isn't enough to hold us over, we can find something around tea time. It's only mid-morning, so we have lots of time to make decisions," Hermione turned to the attendant with their luggage and asked, "Is there a good place to get tea here?"
The suite was nothing less than stunning. Draco stared out the window at the harbor below, once again daydreaming about being out on the unbelievable blue water in one of the hundreds of yachts bobbing up and down. He turned at the sound of the door shutting behind the young man who had been taking care of them. Hermione walked towards him with two glasses of champagne in her hands. She came up next to him at the window and handed one to him. They lightly touched the rims together and she said,
"To a luck-filled weekend." Taking a sip, Hermione hummed in appreciation of the drink before continuing, "What are you thinking? You were so quiet on the cab ride and now again."
"I think I want a yacht. Have you ever been on one?"
"No. The only boats I've been on are cruise ships and that fishing boat in Japan. Well, there was the boat ride across the Black Lake at Hogwarts when we were little first years, if that counts" she laughed. "I think you can charter fully crewed yachts by the hour or day here. We can ask the concierge when we go back down, if you like."
"Yes, I would definitely like that."
An hour later they hung up their clothes in the closets, using a spell to get out a couple of wrinkles, finished off their drinks and food, freshened up, and found themselves back downstairs in front of the concierge.
"Of course, Mr. Malfoy, we would be happy to book a crewed yacht for you on Sunday for five hours beginning at 10:00. I will make sure a chef is also provided to take care of lunch for you and Miss Granger. Please make sure you are ready to check out by 9:30, and we'll take care of transporting you and your belongings to the harbor," the woman told him in immaculate English. He had heard her speaking French to the couple already at her desk when he walked up, and as he walked away he heard her switch into Italian for the man behind him.
Four hours later, they managed to try every game the casino offered at least once. Draco thought the slot machines were horribly annoying with their flashing lights, loud noises, and mind-numbing button pushing. He didn't even want to go near them. He placed one bet on a roulette wheel, just so he could needle Harry about it when he next saw him. He chose black, figuring it would be hard to go wrong with his favorite color. He lost when red came up. Hermione hedged his bet by placing the same amount on red. She smirked as she handed him back exactly what he lost. Blackjack was a better game, and they played together for about an hour.
"Remind me never to play blackjack against The Weasel, I can see why he was so good at it," Draco admitted to Hermione when they walked away with a bit more money than they started with.
Craps was next, and this worried Draco. "Are you sure you aren't going to go crazy on me?" he hesitantly inquired as she stalked around the multiple tables muttering under her breath phrases which sounded like "good vibes", "cold dice", "stuck up attendant", and other things he didn't catch. Honestly, she already sounded a little crazy.
Finally, she settled on one, and he watched her begin to work the table. It was a sight to behold. Knowing how she was creating sexual tension and feeding off the energy on purpose, just for him, left him semi-hard for the next hour, which felt uncomfortable, to say the least. It got to the point where he either needed to take her up to their room and ravish her, or he should walk away. He had started betting too after about 10 minutes of watching and listening, but he wasn't doing nearly as well as his girlfriend. Hermione was on a winning streak, so he decided it best to walk away.
"Can you discreetly set an alarm on your wand to go off in two hours to meet me in the lobby? I want to check out the poker tables, but I don't want to take you away from this. If I get bored sooner, I'll come back here," he whispered to her. She nodded, never taking her eyes off the table. She slipped a hand down against her thigh to touch where her wand sat holstered under her dress to nonverbally do as he asked when he kissed her good-bye on the cheek.
Two hours later Hermione stood in the lobby - Draco wasn't there. She waited 10 minutes before she headed to the poker tables. She found Draco holding court. He was playing no limit; an amazing amount of chips were stacked next to him. A small crowd stood gathered to watch the tournament he was in. Hermione didn't want to ruin his concentration, so she just joined the crowd to watch him without making her presence known.
Hermione knew the effect she provoked in him earlier at the craps table. Now, he unknowingly flipped that on her. She saw the way women were staring at him with blatant lust. He was gorgeous, obviously wealthy, and right now was a commanding presence. His current pose in his seat seemed languid and he used his signature drawl whenever he spoke, but the coiled power he exuded laid evident. Knowing this man belonged to her, and vice versa, made Hermione's knickers wet.
The tournament quickly drew to a close, with just two players left besides Draco, and one of those hung on by a thread. On the next hand, the woman went all in and Draco easily won her chips, leaving just him and one other man. It took a few more hands, but in the end Draco was the last man standing. At the instant it happened, he looked up straight into her eyes, with a smirk on his lips, and using Legilimency, forced an image into her head of him sweeping every chip in front of him off of the table, grabbing her to hike up her dress, rip off her knickers, unzip his trousers to pull out his rock hard cock, and take her right there on the table. Merlin, she nearly came from the images in their heads. How long had the bastard known she was standing there?
"How much did you win?" she asked after he finished up the formalities at the table, and got his chit to turn in at a cashier. There were still women eyeing him, but only exceedingly stupid ones, since the beyond-heated stare they shared just a few minutes ago should have made Hermione's claim to him clear. One even had the audacity to try to chat him up, putting her hand on his arm, before Hermione stepped forward. The woman pouted at Draco, in what she thought was a sexy manner, as Draco shook her hand off of him without ever saying a word to her. He simply turned his back on her and walked away.
"Five hundred thousand Euros," he said negligently, as if the money wasn't a large amount. It really wasn't to him. "Sorry I didn't meet you in the lobby. My alarm vibrated in my pocket, but I couldn't very well walk away. I'll make it up to you." She knew he would.
"You aren't angry about the Legilimency, are you?" he asked after a moment, making sure no Muggles were close enough to hear him.
"Merlin, no! Not when used in that context!"
They enjoyed a lovely tea at the place recommended to them earlier in the day. Draco couldn't help a bit of bragging about his poker prowess.
"It's like I spent my life training to be a poker player. Every little twitch of the lips, a rapid blink of the eyes, a finger tap - my survival once depended on reading people's tells. And at developing the ability to have none of my own. The only advantage the other players had was they had all played before, while it was my first time. Not that anyone believed I just learned about poker from a book three days ago. It was like taking candy from a baby." Hermione loved it when Draco used Muggle sayings without thought.
"The first few rounds got rid of the bloke who grinned with fake happiness when dealt a poor hand, the other bloke who tugged his earlobe when he planned to call a bet rather than fold when he should have, the girl who sipped her cocktail to cover her nervousness, and the crazy bloke who called everything, no matter what he held. And those were just some of the worst. There is another tournament at 10 tonight I would like to get in on. Care to join me?"
"Only if we can hit up the craps tables at least one more time either before dinner or after the tournament. I want to play in the dress I plan to wear tonight," she said with a heated look at him.
They quickly paid their bill and practically ran back to their hotel room. To Draco, this was really the major drawback of the Muggle world – apparition was so much better at times like this. However, the lift doors opened to reveal an empty carriage, so he took advantage of the situation. He managed to back her into a wall, his erection pressed tightly against her as he palmed her breasts through her dress and licked and bit her neck. Hermione's moans filled the small space.
Since their first Muggle adventure, Hermione slowly started to allow small spells and uses of magic when they went on her Muggle dates, as long as they were extremely discreet. Like the spell on their clothes earlier to press them, or the silent alarms on their wands. Overall, the point was to experience the Muggle world as a Muggle would. Draco liked to think Slytherins knew when to bend the rules. They barely made it out of the elevator before he sent a wandless, nonverbal Alohomora towards the door to their suite - a definite cheat, even if the hallway was completely empty. Hermione ignored it.
The door shut and locked behind them, and Draco pulled her dress over her head. She ran towards the bedroom, in her black lacy bra, knickers, high heels, and wand still holstered on her thigh. Draco chased her as he quickly unbuttoned his shirt, divesting himself of it, and unbuckled his belt, yanking it out of his trouser loops to drop it on the floor. His trousers, shoes, and socks didn't last much longer. He paused at the foot of the bed in nothing but his boxers, staring at Hermione reposed against the pillows. Was it wrong that it turned him on to chase her and catch her while her wand remained strapped on her thigh? Better to not ponder on thoughts such as these too long.
She gazed at him with hooded eyes as she leaned forward to be able to reach behind her and unsnap her bra. After tossing it aside, she kicked off her heels. The sight of her wearing nothing besides her knickers and wand meant he was a now as hard as steel. He slowly lowered his shorts, watching as her eyes dropped down to watch their progress, her tongue unconsciously darting out to lick her lips.
Hermione stared at the precum evident on the nearly purple head of Draco's cock. All she could think about was tasting it. She went to her hands and knees, and crawled towards him, never taking her eyes off the prize. Her tongue snaked out and she licked just the tip of him, letting her eyes come up to see his reaction. His eyes were closed and his head thrown back, with his mouth wide open. Was he even breathing? Nope, his big intake of air a moment later answered that question for her. As he let out the breath, he moaned. She went to work on him with the hopes of eliciting more moans. She did that and more, as he came deep into her throat with a shout. He took a moment to pause after he finished, before picking her up by her armpits and throwing her down onto her back in the middle of the bed.
He ripped off her knickers, leaving her holster strapped on. Draco never once said a thing aloud about her keeping it on, but he didn't need to. Early in their relationship, she had noticed the way his eyes hungrily darted to it and the way his body would react as he grazed his fingers against it as he rubbed up and down her thighs. She didn't wear it often, usually only when she wore a dress or a skirt without pockets when out in the Muggle world. She let him keep secret whatever fantasies flitted through his head at the sight of it. The end result was what mattered to her.
She was past the point of needing foreplay and he knew it. Draco dove between her legs like a man with a mission. A mission to make her scream. He latched on to her clit with his mouth, while two fingers quickly filled her soaking wet quim. He set a rhythm with his fingers only broken by occasionally pulling them completely out to swipe them against the tight bud of her arse.
She fell into a litany of saying, "Merlin, Nicneven, Circe, Draco, Cernunnos, Morgana, Draco, Diana, Hecate, Draco!" She was such a swot, even while in throes of passion. Draco loved the heady feeling of his name mixed with gods and goddesses.
When she came apart for him, the only name leaving her lips was his, over and over.
"On your hands and knees, love. I have a feeling neither of us is going to last long and I'm in a mood to dominate you." That damn holster.
She quickly complied and he rubbed his thumb continuously against her rear entrance while he pounded into her wet, tight pussy, holding onto her hip with his other hand. It was only minutes before she clenched down on him, screaming once again in ecstasy, and he moved his hand from her arse to grab onto her thigh, her wand directly under his hand as he buried himself deep into her, letting his seed coat her insides.
The ensuing shower didn't turn into anything else, the two of them were too spent to do more than languidly wash each other. Hermione took great pleasure in Draco massaging her scalp as he worked conditioner into her curls. Afterwards, she put on a matching set of silver knickers and strapless bra, pulled thigh high stockings up her delectable legs, and then strapped her holster and wand back on her thigh. Draco knew she doing all of this in front of him much slower than needed. His cock twitched inside the trousers he'd already put on. He was just doing up his belt and the temptation to pull it back out of the loops was strong. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table and sighed. Not enough time. Instead, he worked on putting on his cufflinks as his erection grew.
Hermione shimmied the deep green dress up over her hips with her back to Draco, confident he was watching her arse. The hem came down just far enough to cover the lace at the top of her stockings and hide her wand. She pulled the halter straps up around her neck and then turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, "Care to help me by holding my hair to the side while I button this?"
He strode across the room, picked up her hair with one hand, while his other arm snaked around her front, his fingers splayed against her stomach, pulling her arse back onto the prominent evidence of his arousal. She found herself having trouble doing the buttons as her mind went blank at the feel of his breath on the nape of her neck. He chuckled.
"Later, kitten. We need to leave for dinner. We no longer have time to hit up the craps tables before we eat, so we'll roll some dice after we play poker. Which means we definitely don't have time for this," he purred the last few words as he rolled his hips against her. And then he released her and walked away to put his tie and shoes on. He completed getting ready in less than five minutes. She took another ten more minutes beyond him to perfect her look and put a charm on her heels to make them comfortable for the next who-knew-how-many hours.
Hermione did not last as long as Draco in the poker tournament. At least she didn't go out to Draco. He would have never let her live that down. It was to a man who looked to be about sixty; he offered to give her extra pointers after the tournament ended, if she cared to stick around. She raised an eyebrow at his suggestion of a private tutelage session and politely declined. The casino was busier at this time of night, and the number of people who bought into this tournament was higher than the one earlier in the day. Although it took longer, Draco still ended up winning. He walked away with nine hundred thousand Euros. Before he left, he put his name down for an additional tournament tomorrow night with an expected take of 1.5 million Euros. The dealer assured him it would fill up by the afternoon, so better to get in now if he wanted. The dealer earned himself one of the most generous tips he ever received from a customer.
Hermione suggested they see the cashier with both of Draco's winnings chits before they do anything else. Hermione explained to Draco how he wouldn't be able to walk out of the casino with that much money in cash; he would need to have it wired to his bank account. Draco had no idea what a wire was. Hermione realized it would have to go into her Muggle bank account at Barclays to be transferred to him later. They gave Hermione's bank info to the cashier when they got there, and suddenly Hermione had 1.4 million extra Euros to her name. Draco just shrugged after they walked away and told her if it was going to be a problem to move it around, she could keep it.
"I would probably end up spending most of it on you anyway. Maybe we can find some nice jewelry for you in a shop tomorrow." Hermione would never get over how blasé he could be about money.
The two moved on to craps. Hermione felt a bit knackered by this point, but perked back up when she saw a table that met her strict criterea – an energetic, joking attendant, a high ratio of men versus women (there were only two women there, both looked to be married to the men they were standing next to), lots of alcoholic beverages in hand, and hot dice as evidenced by chips stacked all around, the continuous shouts, and the non-stop rolling of the current bloke.
She and Draco waded in and started to lay bets. Hermione preferred to always play the hard eights as one of her side bets. They both laid a few other random bets out on the table, waiting to make their "real" bets after the current roller crapped out and the next roller took over. Which happened fairly quickly.
Both put money down on the pass line, knowing this table offered double odds if you chose to take it after the point was established. They planned to take advantage of it. They also both put money down on the come line. Once again, they planned to take those odds on when play started. Hermione, of course, put money back down on the hard eight. Draco decided to mimic her and put money down on the hard six. They were using the pass and come lines to hopefully make some sure money on a hot shooter, wishing to get lucky on big odds on their 6 and 8 bets.
"Let's give these dice to the gorgeous lady who just joined us, what do you say?", the casino inquired of the table. Everyone seemed happy with the idea, some realizing it would be a way to stare down her evident cleavage when she leaned over the table to grab the dice. Hermione glowed with the attention from the table and with the attention from Draco putting a hand on the small of her back. "Good luck!"
Draco stared at his girlfriend in awe. She was easily the most beautiful creature in the casino. He could see a tiny bit of magic sparkling in her hair as she began to roll. After she established a point of five, the two of them began to play their strategy of taking the odds on both the pass line and come line. As Hermione continued to roll, they took their winnings from the come line and immediately bet on it again over and over. Hermione was on fire, rolling again and again. On the seventh roll, she hit the hard eight and yelled with joy. On the ninth roll, she hit the hard six and Draco shouted out, "Hell yes!" On the fifteenth roll, she hit hard eight again. Many people at the table had followed her lead to place bets on it after the first time she won on it, so a collective cheer of, "Hermione!" went up around them. Her eyes were bright and she couldn't keep the grin off of her face as she rolled again. Yes, she was happy with winning the money, but Draco didn't miss the way she stole glances at the men around them as they blatantly stared at her. He once again found himself in the position of getting hard in public.
She finally crapped out on the twenty-second roll, after hitting the hard eight an unbelievable third time. It was an awe-inspiring run, making most people at that table very wealthy. Hermione received some high-fives, some fist bumps, and one hug from an over-eager Italian kid. The bloke's face was red when his mate pulled him off her, whether with embarrassment or desire, Draco wasn't sure. Draco didn't miss the Cheshire Cat grin on Hermione's face after it. He was about to grab her hand to take her to their room in order to have his way with her, when suddenly he heard,
"Let's offer the dice to Hermione's consort, shall we? Think he's as hot as her?" Draco smirked at the man in charge of the table, who sent back an audacious wink his way. Hermione snorted out a not-at-all dainty laugh. Draco laid down his bets with the same pass line and come line strategy as last time, deciding to forgo the hard bet. Instead, after his first roll to establish the point, he put money on the 5, 6, and 8, taking advantage of those odds. He didn't think he would be as lucky as Hermione. The blonde was correct. He crapped out on his sixth roll. Now it was definitely time to take their winnings and call it a night.
Hermione awoke the next morning feeling deliciously sore. She lay on her side, nestled on Draco's shoulder, the arm under her wrapped around her shoulder. Her top leg was thrown across his hips. She could feel his morning erection under her thigh. She slowly slid out from under his arm and moved her body across his to fully straddle him. She reached down to align his cock with her entrance and slowly worked her way down onto him. He smiled and said, "Morning, love," without opening his eyes.
Afterwards, they ordered breakfast in, which Draco collected at the door in his robe. Hermione was still in the shower, emerging afterwards to find everything set up on the terrace, Draco sitting with a cup of coffee in hand as he waited for her. They shared the fruits and pastries straight off the serving platters, not bothering with individual plates.
"Let's walk down the beach a bit before we hit the tables again. You can stare at the yachts and I can work out some of the soreness in my hips and thighs," Hermione said without a trace of embarrassment regarding why she felt sore.
On their way out, Draco stopped by the concierge desk to get advice on where the best jewelry stores were located. The same woman who helped them yesterday pointed out the excellent one inside the casino, while listing a handful of others for him, and then handily circling each on a map of the city. She clearly remembered how well Draco tipped.
They returned to the hotel a few hours later, with sun-kissed cheeks, dreams of yachts in Draco's head, and bags from three different jewelry stores, Pomellato, Ciribelli, and Bernasconi Gioielli, in Hermione's hand. With each purchase, Hermione tried to pay using Draco's money in her bank account. And each time he waved her away like an annoying child while he pulled out his Dubai Bank card. Hermione never stood a chance against his charm over each store's employees. Frankly, they looked at her like she was ridiculous when she tried to pay. At least she managed to buy him a pair of cufflinks using "her" money. It felt like a hollow victory.
"Ok, a quick stop in our room to drop off bags and freshen up. Don't try any funny business with me once we're up there. I want to get back down here, eat a quick bite at that little Italian café, and then get in on a tournament starting in an hour. Will you join me, or will you be shooting dice?"
"I'll join you. I told you I didn't think it would be the same as when I came here before, and yesterday proved me correct. I don't really want to play alone."
"We'll see how long it takes me to win this tournament, maybe there will be time to hit a craps table before tea."
"Cocky bastard, aren't you?"
Draco just gave her his best blank look.
Four hours later, Hermione found herself depositing seven hundred thousand Euros into her Barclays account. In what alternate universe did she have an extra 2.1 million Euros in her bank account?
"Our itinerary for the rest of the day is as follows. We head to tea now, we enter the poker tournament starting right after, you win another obscene amount of money, we head upstairs to have a quick shag to take the edge off before we dress for dinner, we eat some amazing food, you go to the last tournament of the night that your name is already in, we go get ourselves even more sexually worked up at the craps table, culminating in us shagging each other senseless."
"I love it when you're bossy."
Three hours later, Hermione furiously rubbed her clitoris while she rode Draco in a reverse cowboy. To Draco, it felt like she was having one long continuous orgasm. There were peaks and valleys, but her walls kept clenching at him, just varying in intensity. She was making an obscene amount of noise. He had been trying to hold back, to see how long she could go on like this, but when she commanded, "Spank my arse," he obliged while thrusting his hips up hard. After his first slap and thrust, he was a goner, getting out just six more of the same before Hermione read his body language perfectly and taking her fingers off herself, she quickly moved them down to press firmly on his perineum. Draco swore he saw stars.
"That definitely took the edge off."
Hermione wore one of her new necklaces and also some new earrings to dinner. Her gold dress was Grecian in style. She loved the way it draped on her and seemed to flow when she walked. Draco wore his new cufflinks. In addition to her small clutch, Hermione also carried a book with her. She planned to do some reading while sitting on the sidelines of the poker tournament. She knew it could be a couple of hours of slow action until they got down to a final table.
They finished dinner a little earlier than expected, so they stopped in the Chopard Boutique to see the jewelry on offer there. Draco bought Hermione an exquisite cocktail ring and she didn't even try to argue this time. She'd devised a new plan.
Hermione watched the players at each table for a while, mentally cataloging funny tells she caught in order to share them later with Draco. One utterly disturbing woman cleared her throat with a "hem hem" whenever she bet low with the hope someone else would be suckered into raising, which she would then call and re-raise. A portly man picked his nose. Hermione conceded that at least he didn't put his finger in his mouth afterwards, so it could be worse. Those were the type of people who were out early on. It was the ones who only flared their nostrils slightly when dealt poor cards, or ran the just the tip of their tongue along their lips in anticipation when their cards were exceptionally good who stayed in longer.
Draco knew the crowd would be bigger tonight because the winnings were bigger. But this crowd seemed too big. During a ten-minute break for people to use the loo, he said as much to the bloke sitting next to him- an American. He laughed,
"You really don't know, do you? They're here because of you. Word has spread about how you have won all four high stakes tournaments you entered in the past two days. About how you make it look so easy, although you claim to never have played for a minute before yesterday, and you learned how from a book the eye candy on your arm," he paused to look at Hermione, "gave you on Tuesday. Doesn't hurt that the ladies like the looks of you, too."
Draco thought every American may be a Griffyndor considering their bluntness. He raised an eyebrow to the man and asked, "And what's your opinion?"
"I'll admit you are rather handsome, but you aren't my type," again he glanced at Hermione as he made a dry joke. "If you're referring to your poker abilities, my opinion is, I don't give a fuck. My only concern is how to beat you here and now." With that, the game was back on.
It turned out the American's tell was Hermione; he would inadvertently glance at her just before doing something reckless. It seemed like he could sense Hermione was a kindred reckless spirit. Bloody Gryffindors.
This time when Draco won, the image he sent to Hermione when he caught her eye was similar to the one from yesterday, except he bent her over the poker table with her chest pressed against it as he took her from behind, in addition to two fingers disappearing into her arse. She let out an involuntary gasp. When he stood up, he pushed his hands deep in his pockets; she smirked at the realization he was just as affected as her.
They took his eight hundred thousand Euro chit from the previous tournament along with this 1.5 million Euro one to the cashier once again. And once again it all went to Hermione. Having an extra 4.4 million Euros in her bank account didn't seem so scary with a plan in place. Although, it was still unnerving that Draco didn't seem to care about them at all.
She chose a craps table surrounded by a group of obviously drunk business men, along with three college age boys who couldn't have been more than 19. Hermione momentarily flashed back to her previous trip there with Ron and Harry when they were that young. She decided to concentrate her flirting on the boys.
Draco watched in fascination as she drove all the men at the table spare. The boys ate up her hair-flips which pulled attention to her delicate neck. They couldn't stop their eyes being drawn to her lips when she coyly sucked on the straw in her drink. All of them went a little red in the face whenever she leaned over the table. He hid a genuine smile behind the rim of his highball glass while sipping his drink at the sight of one trying to adjust an erection, hoping no one noticed. Hermione made it obvious she noticed by turning to grab Draco's arm and suggestively rubbed up and down the length of it a couple of times while she made eye contact with the poor kid. Draco nearly spit out his drink.
Meanwhile, whenever one of the businessmen held the dice in hand, they insisted she lean over and blow on them. When they thought Draco wasn't looking, they took turns slipping her their room keys. The silver-eyed man found the escalating dynamic at the table very interesting.
Draco started betting very conservatively, only because he didn't want to have to pay attention to the table. The real show was around him. Hermione acted the opposite, almost flamboyant in her bets on hard six and eight, and proposition bets. Draco wondered if she picked these merely so she could say the words "hard" and "proposition" over and over.
Draco was enjoying himself, but he was getting tired, too. It had been a long day. When the dice next fell on seven, he suggested to Hermione that they go. A collective groan went up from every man around them. While Draco collected their chips, he heard a couple of the older men remind her of their room numbers. Hermione blew a kiss good-bye to her boys. They took their chips to the cashier and got Euros back in exchange for what they wanted to carry in cash, and put the rest into Barclays. Draco considered it might be time to open a Muggle bank account.
He smirked when she threw all of the collected room keys in the trash as they waited for the lift.
When they made it to their suite, not a single item of clothing made it fully off their bodies before he took her from behind, over the table in the dining area, doing exactly what he had shown her in their minds at the poker table. She clamped down almost painfully on his fingers when she came. He came hard and fast in her slick pussy, while imagining his cock in place of the fingers in her arse. They finally divested themselves of their clothes and got ready for bed. He found himself slowly making love to her one last time in the dark before they fell asleep. There were lots of sweet kisses, light caresses in the places they knew best on each other, and whispers of "I love you" as they both climaxed one last time.
They made it to the yacht a bit before 10:00, with their suitcases packed, ready to be stowed in the master suite onboard. Hermione wore her crimson red bikini with a cover-up dress over it, strappy sandals, sunglasses, and a floppy straw hat. Her hair fell in loose, gentle curls today, and was being ruffled by the breeze off the water, which was just enough for her to keep a hand on her hat. She looked like a model, Draco mused. They met their captain, crew, and chef for the excursion. One of the crew members offered them drinks. Both wanted to start with mimosas. The chef asked them some questions about their likes and dislikes and made certain neither suffered from food allergies. Finally, the captain offered them a tour of the vessel.
Draco hung on the man's every word and asked about a hundred questions. Draco had divulged in the beginning that he was considering buying a yacht, so the captain was very patient and went above and beyond in explaining many things he normally wouldn't. When Draco finally exhausted himself of every detail he could think to gather, he excused himself to go to the loo.
Hermione quickly turned to the captain and said, "I want to surprise my boyfriend by buying him a yacht today. I am looking at about the 4 million Euro range. Could you or one of your crew members help me line up some for him to look at when we return to shore? I can confirm all bank account information the seller would need right now so there won't be a question of where the money is coming from when we complete the transaction." The captain agreed one of his crew members would start to work on the details immediately for her. They would check in with her sporadically whenever she could get a few minutes alone.
Draco was having one of the best days of his life. Sunning himself with Hermione in her little red bikini turned out just as he imagined it. They sipped cocktails, ate a wonderful meal, quietly read books while lounging, not needing to fill the silences, and just relaxed. At one point in time, Draco even went below deck to lie down for a 30 minute nap. Hermione seemed to use the loo a lot more than usual, but she also kept on talking about staying hydrated in the hot sun, so he really didn't think anything of it.
Hermione looked at pictures and features of different yacht choices every time she went to "use the loo" and while Draco napped. By the end of their tour, she narrowed it down to three. They would all be waiting at the pier when they docked. She was practically buzzing with excitement. She knew Draco would tip the crew and chef handsomely for their time and effort today – that didn't stop her from slipping a little something extra to the girl who had spent nearly four hours helping her with this side project.
Draco was shocked, to say the least, when there was a salesman with three yachts waiting for him to look at when they stepped foot back onshore. Hermione just looked at him smugly. Any of the three boats would be perfect, he realized after touring them. Hermione definitely paid attention to his conversations earlier in the weekend, and also to his questions with the captain that day. Her smug expression turned into nearly an evil grin when, after indicating which one he preferred, the broker handed paperwork to Hermione and she signed for a transfer of funds from her Barclay's account to purchase it. He had meant for her to spend that money on herself! He almost blurted out she was a 'sneaky Slytherin' in front of the Muggle.
"What shall we do with your new yacht?" the broker asked, once the paperwork was completed.
Draco quickly thought of the perfect answer, "Please keep it here for the next month, I will pay whatever fee is required. At that time, I will require a temporary crew to take us from here to Italy, one way. In the meantime, I will make preparations to keep it permanently in Italy near property I own there. I will have my personal assistant email you full details later this week." Turning to Hermione he smiled and raised an eyebrow, "Care to join me next month for a week in Italy?"
A/N: I am sure you are all intelligent enough to guess where the next date takes place