"Are you sure you don't want to come along? You might enjoy it," Russalyn asked as she walked into the living room sliding her bangles on her wrist. She was wearing a rose silk dress that had a black lace overlay the straps were thin leaving her shoulders bare. She wore a silver necklace that hung enticingly between her breasts and Severus averted his eyes from the show of tempting flesh and let his hair fall forward obscuring his face.
She had received the invitation from Arden the day after Christmas. It was going to be a large gathering at Grenfell Place and his response to her inquiry was, "Why would I want to go to a party?" This had been the response every time she had tried to change his mind over the past week.
"Alright I guess I will see you later," she said and fought to keep the hurt from her voice. She looked at him as he sat in his favorite wing back chair writing in the journal she had gotten him for Christmas, "I will be back at one. Happy New Year Severus, Grenfell Place," she said before she was swallowed by green flames.
Severus looked up at the clock on the mantel. It was only eleven o'clock. He looked down at what he had been working on in the journal. It was a pencil drawing of Russalyn reading a book outside under the Rudella tree with Jinx's large head resting in her lap. The entire journal was filled with similar such drawings. He snapped it shut as he stood up and began to pace tossing the book onto the seat he had just vacated.
What could possibly go wrong at a party of that magnitude? Russalyn had said that the Grenfell parties were always huge. That hundreds of people would be there, she would have friends there to keep her safe. Nothing would happen to her, he was just being paranoid. Then the smiling face of James Andrews flashed through his mind and he was inside the grate, "Grenfell Place!"
He was greeted by loud music and voices as he left the fire place. He moved quickly to the wall and began trying to locate Russalyn. When he saw her she was on the dance floor with a familiar dark haired witch that must have been Arden. She was smiling and dancing and his heart squeezed at the sight of her. She was so beautiful and he knew there was no way she could feel the same about him as he did for her.
He watched them move off the floor and walked along the wall, his dark gaze never leaving her. They stopped at the bar and as her friend moved on to go speak with the other guest Russalyn stayed by the bar looking out over the crowd. She was approached by many attractive men and when she would smile at each one Severus stomach would twist painfully, but none of them convinced her to dance again no matter how much they asked and he began to relax as the hour moved along.
It was approaching midnight when he saw James. He approached Russalyn as her back was turned and poured a vile of clear liquid into her champagne and Severus began to push his way through the crowd. When she turned and saw James behind her, her eyes widened and she backed away quickly, then with a scowl she turned and began to walk away. He stepped in front of her cutting her off and giving his back to Severus who had drawn his wand.
James said something to her that made her roll her eyes and then she took a swallow of her champagne. She turned back to look at James with her eyes wide with realization before she went limp and fell into his arms. Severus had reached them and the crowd was counting down as James turned to come face to face with him, "Release her," he drawled coolly, but sparks flew from his wand as he spoke belying his true anger.
"Not a chance Prince she is mine now. In twenty minutes this will have worn off and with my memory charms she won't even remember your name," James sneered as he shifted her in his arms.
"Twenty minutes you say? Funny that's how long this takes to wear off," Severus said and lifting his wand blasted James in the face with a stinging jinx. He didn't dare try anything stronger if he was going to get them home safely.
As James screamed in pain everyone cried 'Happy New Year' and Severus scooped Russalyn in his arms and pulled them into the void landing them in her living room. He carefully laid her on the large couch and with the last of his strength he cast a barrier spell on the fire place blocking all floo travel. With that done he collapsed on the floor next to the couch taking Russalyn's hand. He would relapse, but he didn't give a damn. She was safe was his last thoughts before darkness took him.
When he came to it was still dark out, but he was now in his room and bare-chested. He looked down at the end of his bed and saw Russalyn sitting there holding a glass of thick red liquid. She wore a white cotton dress that left her shoulders bare and her hair was pulled to one side showing the smooth creamy flesh. She was looking out his window so she didn't notice he had awakened and was studying her, memorizing this moment to add to his journal.
She must have eventually felt his gaze because she turned to look at him and smiled softly. "I thought you would be waking soon," she said and handed him the glass as he sat up, "You have been out since last night. Drink this it will make you feel better."
When he looked at it then at her she smiled glad she could now read the question in his dark eyes. "It is Rudella juice and crushed chestnuts. Not the best tasting combination, but it will bring you back up to par from before your excessive use of magic," she said and watch as with a nod he swallowed down the vile combination. The effects were immediate as Severus felt strength and magic flow through him.
When he looked at her again she was looking down at her hands as they twisted in her lap, "I want to thank you for saving me last night.," she said and he waved it away with a mumbled response, "I heard everything that happened. James was never very good when it came to potion reactions with other stimulants. I was awake for it all… I went nearly mad waiting for the potion to ware off so I could help you," she said and tried to read his reaction as he looked down at the now empty glass.
She knew it was not the nicest thing to do, but it was the only way to get everything out of him, "I know I should have been paying more attention, but I was a bit distracted," she began and she saw his shoulders start to tense.
"How could you not be with all the men that approached you," he nearly snarled and then wanted hex himself, that comment had not only told her that he had been watching her, but she could probably hear the jealously in his voice.
She smiled inwardly, "No it wasn't them. It was this one dark wizard across the room that was watching me. I knew the moment he stepped into the room. Dark hair, compelling eyes and when he smiles, and it is rare, it sends my heart racing. I had hoped that he would come talk to me, but he just stayed in the shadows," she said and watched his grip on the glass tighten at every word she spoke and shook her head, damn his self preservation was maddening.
She stood and took the glass from his hands before he could shatter it. She walked across the room and placed it on the dresser. She then turned and leaned against the wall observing him. He sat tense and hunched over refusing to look at her. It was easy to read him now that she knew what she was looking for, but knew she wouldn't get a true reaction unless she pushed him over the edge.
She wasn't afraid of him hurting her, so it was time to pull out the big guns. "I think it is love. In fact I know it is. I have for awhile now."
He was up and across the room in the span of a heart beat. Towering over her as he spoke, "So who is this Prince Charming," he snarled. He didn't want to know, but the sick twisted part of him needed to, needed to know the bastard that had stolen his Russalyn's heart.
He stepped back as if slapped when she laughed up at him. "Oh he is so not Prince Charming. I already had him once and he turned out to be a psychopath. No this wizard is quite different. Now if you want to know his name you will have to come here. I am not going to shout it out." He did as she asked and even bent over so she could whisper it in his ear, "His name is Severus," then she cupped his face and bushed her lips sweetly against his.
That one sweet kiss was like dynamite to a damn, devastating in it effect. With what could only be described as a growl of desire Severus took her mouth with savage need that she returned in kind. Lips, teeth and tongues all came into play as they gave into what they had been denying for so long and Russalyn felt her heart sore.
His hand traced down her body and found the edge of her dress and ran back up to the small patch of lace at the junction between her thighs. With a quick ripe they were gone and he pressed closer to her.
Russalyn's hands hadn't been idle. She had undone his pants and pushed them to the floor. When he moved closer to her he stepped out and left them there forgotten. As he began press into her she slung a leg around his lean hips and her arms around his neck their kiss never breaking until they were fully joined.
With one hand on the wall and the other supporting her leg Severus set a frantic pace that had her crying out with each of his thrusts. Her cries and the feel of her around him had him quickly falling into oblivion. He came with a rugged groan and then he placed his face in the crook of her neck.
When he felt a drop of moisture hit his shoulder he looked up and saw tears in Russalyn's eyes and his heart stopped, "Merlin what have I done," he asked as he backed away and notice her panties still clutched in his hand. "Oh God I have hurt you! How could I have done that?"
When he bent to retrieve his trousers he was surprised when a feminine foot kicked them out of reach. His eyes snapped up and he saw Russalyn smiling at him and he stood up slowly as she advanced on him, "Severus…shut up," she said and then pushed him back on the bed.
His look of shock turned to one of desire when he watched her lift her dress over her head and the moonlight fell on her lovely naked form. She was a goddess and she was looking at him with hunger in her eyes as she approached the bed and straddled him. Still he refused to touch her even as she leaned down and kissed him, her tongue sliding past his teeth to twine with his.
She pulled away and looked down at him, "I have waited along time for you Severus, I hope you're not having second thoughts," she said as sat back. She saw the way his hands were clenched at on the bed and quirked a brow at him.
"I don't want to hurt you Russalyn. You have to know that that is the last thing I would ever want," he said his dark eyes serious. She had seen him and knew how he felt for her; he wouldn't hide from her again. He brought one hand up and brushed the tears that still clung to her lashes away and frowned at them.
She smile and took his hand and kissed the palm, "I know you never would. Those are tears of relief Severus. I had feared for so long that you didn't care for me, and then finding out that you do…I couldn't help it. I promise it won't happen again. Let me prove it," she purred as she placed his hand on her naked breast then leaned down to kiss him.
He swiftly rolled her over to her back, kissed her deeply and felt her arch into him. He broke the kiss and began to place hot kisses along her jaw and neck. Russalyn laced her fingers through his hair and moaned as his kissed moved lower to her breast. When he took her nipple in his mouth she cried out and he growled in satisfaction.
She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him back up to kiss him. As he joined their bodies he felt her sigh and marveled at her tight body and how she could feel so good. With every thrust he brought them closer and he could feel Russalyn tensing around him. Her body coiling like a spring. With a cry she fell over the edge and Severus felt her clenching around him and swiftly joined her.
He rolled to the side taking her with him and laid her across his chest. When they had caught their breath Russalyn said as she played with the hair on his chest, "You know if you had been easier to read we could have been doing this months ago."
"Why didn't you say anything," he said and looked down at her with a quirked brow.
"Hello you just met me and I wasn't about to blab everything out to you if I couldn't see you cared for me to. You're not the only one that would like to keep their heart in one piece," she said and poked him in his ribs.
He was about to respond when a noise from down stairs caught their attention. It wasn't loud but it had them both up a dressed in moments. Then they heard an even more disturbing sound…the sound of a chair being scrapped across the floor.