Chapter 22

Her encounter with Draco shook her. Made worse by the fact that he'd shown her his black little heart. Offered it to her.

A part of her itched to seek him out. Another part knew it was for her own good to stay away. She just had to grit down and bare it. She knew she was being cruel, but it wasn't with malice. Although she had every right to it.

It was like a weight that had settled on her. She went about her business, went to class, came home, went out with her friends. Matt was still oblivious and Hermione hadn't bothered to correct it yet. She didn't bother as Draco was so heavily in her head at the moment. She would get around to it eventually.

It would fade though. She saw it like an addiction and she just had to buckle down until it gave up its grip on her.

She was turning away all owled messages as the moment. Two of which she knew were from him. She just couldn't deal with any of it at the moment.

A couple of weeks passed and she could at least start putting it out of her mind for chunks of time. She felt some relief as her parents went on a holiday to Australia for a month as she didn't have to act cheery all the time. They couldn't explain their draw there, but they felt a compulsion to visit. Hermione guessed it was their repressed memories from their time there during the war.

She went to a planned get together with her friends to a pizza restaurant one Friday evening. It was fun. The conversation was fuelled by a bit of alcohol and she could laugh at some of the anecdotes, usually involving some physical dealings with the opposite sex.

She had to go to the bathroom and got up from the table to seek out the ladies in the back. She followed the hall down to the toilets and felt a pair of arms around her. She didn't panic. She just knew who it was.

"Just in time, Granger." He said and brought out a box from his pocket.

Fuck, she thought to herself as she felt the pull in her body that told her she was being transported by a portkey.

She was furious when the suffocating pull lifted. She whipped around to grab hold of Draco, but he jump out of her reach.

"Take me back." She said as she looked around and noticed that she was in the apartment, in Cuba.

"Take me back." She demanded.

"I can't. It's a portkey. I thought you knew how they work." He said derisively.

"You can't just kidnap me." She said.

"I thought we covered this already, Granger, I can pretty much do whatever I want with you. To you." He said with his well worn smirk. "Wife."

"Are we back to this now?" She asked deflated. She cursed herself as she realised that she'd left her wand in her bag that was hanging off the chair back in the restaurant.

"You can't keep me here." She stated.

"Where are you going to go?" He said.

The question threw her. Where was she going to go? She had no money. She had no wand. She had no phone, not that it would work here. She wasn't even sure she could get an international line even if she begged to use someone's phone. And even if she did, what was she going to do, beg her parents to buy her a ticket. How would she get hold of them? How were they going to send it to her? There were no owls to reach Harry. Maybe she could find an embassy. Were there embassies here? It would take weeks to organise even if they were.

Her mind was rambling through her options.

"Just take me back." She demanded.

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"We have no way out. We can't apparate as this is an island. We can't afford to fly the muggle way and there is no wizard community here to establish a portkey."

"So how are we going to get back? How were you planning on getting back?"She demanded. "You don't have any money? Wow you must feel alien not having money in your pocket. "

"We're not going back." He said and sat down on the bed.

"What?"

"We're going to stay."

"You can't be serious."

"The cupboards are stocked. We have everything we need."

"There is something seriously wrong with you, you know that?"

"I have been aware of that for close to a year now."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Draco got up and opened the balcony door. It was still daytime here and the sun was streaming into the patio below.

"They'll be playing tonight." He said looking down at the courtyard.

"You stocked the cupboards. You planned this."

"I think we need to work out our issues." He said turning back to her.

"Your issues. I don't have any issues."

"I know you want me." He said, smirking again.

"Oh please." She said with a snort. He stepped a bit closer.

"See, I remember what you liked me to do to you."

She gave him a rebellious look.

"Right over there." He said, indicating towards the bed. "Remember?"

Hermione remembered the bed, and the things they used to do on it. It was a really small bed.

He smiled and stepped away from the balcony door. Hermione was a prepared to take a great leap back if he came towards her.

He didn't. Instead he took his coat off and threw it on the bed, while he went into the bathroom. As soon as he closed the door, she flew towards the coat and rifled through the pockets. She felt a surge of joy as she felt his wand. She apparated away as soon as she got it out of the pocket.

She was at the coast. One of the spots she'd painted. The sea was beautiful and Hermione sat down to watch for a while. But she was feeling anger surging through her. Damn it. He was right. She couldn't apparate over water off the island. She felt a childish compulsion to stamp her feet and as there wasn't anyone around she gave into it.

She stayed until dark, digging her toes into the sand, watching the waves. She was starting to get really tired. It was probably around 4 in the morning back in the UK. After a tirade of swearing she apparated back into the apartment. It was still pretty early in the evening. The band was just starting down in the courtyard. Draco was asleep on the bed. Still in his clothes.

The music seeped into her and warmed her with its soothing tones. It was like a lullaby and she was struggling to keep her eyes open. In the end, she had to relent and lay down on the bed next to Draco ensuring there was a distinct gap between them.

The gap had disappeared during the night and she awoke entwined in Draco's limbs the next morning. As the balcony was still open, there was a slight chill in the air. They were still on top of the blankets and Hermione groaned as she tried to extricate herself. Why didn't she get under the blankets, why didn't she foresee that she would seek out heat in the night.

"Morning Granger." He said.

"Fuck you."

"Such language." He smiled and stretched. He settled down again on his back and fell asleep.

The sun was just rising and it was shining into the room. Its warm glow made everything seem golden. It did do beautiful things to his hair and skin. Males should not be allowed to have skin like that. She watched him. His beautiful slender fingers resting on his belly, slowly moving up and down with his breath. Just touching the metal belt buckle defining the boundary between the crisp white shirt and the deep black of his pants, which graced over his hip, thighs and stomach. She remembered the beautiful muscles underneath and the little trail of hair going... She had spent so much time a year ago watching him sleep in that bed. Granted at the time he had been nude and she thanked her lucky stars that he was dressed, because she struggled to take her eyes off him as it was.

This just would not do, she thought to herself, all he had to do was sleep and he'd seduce her.

She tore her gaze away. She was utterly famished. The cupboards really were full when she checked them. There was a lot of food there. How long was he planning on keeping her? Surely he wasn't expecting them to live here. But the amount of food in the cupboards said he was planning on staying a while.

She rested her head on the cupboard door trying to control her breathing. God, she didn't stand a chance.