Chapter Three

She was shocked by how soft his firm lips were and the gentleness of pressure he exerted. She sighed and his tongue dipped inside, tasting her in long, leisurely licks. His kiss was confident, skilled, and just the right side of aggressive to turn her on wildly. She distantly registered the sound of her purse and papers falling to the floor, then her hands were in his hair. She pulled on the silky strands, using them to direct his mouth over hers. He growled, deepening the kiss, stroking her tongue with lush slides of his own. He pushed off of the couch he was sitting on, instead climbing over her. Cupping the back of her neck and the curve of her butt, her rearranged her on the couch, effectively caging her in with his body.

"I want to fuck you, Granger. Trouble or not, and I can't stop." He muttered against her. His crude words had the equivalent effect of a cold shower. True, they were a massive turn on, but this was Malfoy. She pushed at his chest, struggling to get his big body off of hers. He deepened the kiss, and Hermione had half a mind to just give in all together. He slightly ground against her, and she moaned into his mouth. It was so tempting to just give into him, let him possess her and fill her with pleasure.

No, she wouldn't be distracted, no matter how damn good of a kisser Malfoy was. He relented, noticing her sudden lack of response. He growled while crawling off of her with ease. He looked delicious. He stood at the edge of the sofa, flushed and scowling, his chest was heaving. His tie was loosened and the fly of his slacks strained against a very impressive erection. She had a nightmare vision of what she must look like. Her throat burned. She was aroused, mad, and thoroughly embarrassed. She'd never before lost control like that. She hated that it had been with him.

Taking him in, Hermione did everything in her power to not let her mind go down that road. The path it was taking would surely lead to jumping him and begging him to take her here. She didn't want to embarrass herself anymore than she already did. She cleared her throat.

"Are we done?" Hermione asked, reaching to gather her fallen papers. He bent with her, helping her collect the pages. When she stood up, her legs were shaking, but she accepted them and picked up her purse.

"Hardly." He growled.

"Tell me, Mr. Malfoy, what is there left to discuss?" She asked. She was beginning to get pissed off. She wanted him to feel as pissy as she was. She wanted a fight.

"We need to acknowledge this." He pointed at the space between the two of them.

"And what about this, Malfoy?" She demanded. Why couldn't he just let her go on her merry way? Both of them would continue their lives without having to see each other. It had been working flawlessly thus far.

"This feeling that makes me want to pin you to that sofa and fuck you for days. This feeling that makes me want to possess every inch of your body, bringing you hours of pleasure. Admit it, Granger, you feel it too." He looked hard at her, challenging her to tell him the truth. She couldn't lie, they'd both see right through it.

"Well this can be overlooked. I am attracted to you, that seems quite obvious, but I'm sure most women are. You can go to one of them and fuck them for days. I'm not interested." Hermione snapped. She could feel the ire begin to rise. Who did he think he was? She felt it grow when he had the audacity to laugh.

"You don't get it Granger, do you? Merlin, for the brightest witch of our age, you really don't get the laws of attraction. In fact attraction is too tame a word for this. We have an intense sexual attraction. Do you want to date? Is that it? You don't seem like the kind of woman who has the time or inclination to do such a thing." He stepped forward, coming closer to her until she could feel heat radiating off of him.

"No, I don't want to date, but I hardly see how that affects this. . .connection." There, she'd acknowledged it. Now why wouldn't he let the whole ordeal go?

"Then what is it? What do you want? Seduction? Tell me Granger, do you want to be seduced?" He was staring at her, his eyes boring into hers. She shrunk under his gaze, hoping he'd give up and order her out.

She was equally fascinated and appalled by this conversation. And tempted, yes. It was hard not to be when in the presence of a gorgeous, virile male who was so determined to get hot and sweaty with her. Still the dismay won out.

"Sex that's planned as a business transaction is a turnoff for me." Hermione admitted, hoping he would back off.

"Establishing parameters in the beginning makes it less likely that there'll be exaggerated expectations and disappointment at the conclusion." She balked at him.

"Listen to yourself, Malfoy! Why even call it a shag? Why not be frank and call it seminal emission in a pre-approved orifice?" She scowled. She knew he was the type who enjoyed one-offs, but this was ludicrous. He pissed her off further by laughing at her. Again. The full throaty sound rushed over her like warm water. Her awareness of him heightened to a physically painful level. His earthly amusement made him less sex god and more human. Flesh and blood. Real.

He stepped closer to her, reaching one hand up to caress her face. The intimate gesture was nearly her undoing. She pushed away from him, stepping out of reach.

"Casual sex doesn't require wine and roses, however you of all people should know that I am not the type to throw caution to the wind and launch myself into an affair where there isn't even mutual respect." Perhaps Hermione was out of her element in talking about this, but that didn't deter her. She still had her innocence in tact, and she had no intention of giving it to the man across from her. He merely smirked at her. His humor fled as he stepped closer, his eyes darkening.

"There are no mixed signals in my private affairs. You want me to blur that line. I see no good reason to. I respect you, Miss Granger, and I honestly thought you knew that." She made a move to step back, only to collide with the wall. She pressed against the cool wall, hoping it would bring her aching body down a few degrees. She needed a serious break after this conversation. And a nice bottle of wine. Her heart sung at his admission. He respected her? Well that was a surprise to her. She still clung to her previous argument though.

"I don't want you to do anything, except let me leave this room." She struggled to go past him, but he placed his hands on either sides of her, effectively caging her in. She sighed, closing her eyes. She could feel tension build behind her temples.

"What do you want from me, Malfoy?" She finally asked. She was tired of this. She just wanted to go home and watch t.v. until her mind was numb. Wine and ice cream sounded like an exquisite mix to her.

"I want you." He sighed, "Come to dinner with me tonight." It wasn't an offer, it was a request. He didn't give her say, he merely expected her to agree. This irked her.

"No." Hermione snapped defiantly. Just a few hours of his domineering personality was more than she could take.

"It wasn't an offer. You're going to come with me tonight." He growled. The authority in his tone made her shiver. The spark she'd been pointedly ignoring roared to the surface, desperate to make its presence known. His eyes darkened, his hunger for her renewed. She wet her lips, hoping to revive them. His eyes were drawn to the gesture.

"What time?" She asked. She hadn't said yes, exactly, she was merely curious as to what he had planned. All of a sudden a rumble reverberated from his chest, his hand coming down and releasing her bottom lip from her teeth.

"Don't do that." He demanded. Hermione felt the heat return to her skin. He looked dangerous and enticing. She wanted nothing more than for him to capture her mouth with his. To grab onto his silky strands and pull. Hard. She was aching for him all over again.

"Mr. Malfoy, the Minister of Magic is on the phone." A voice floated around them. They both jumped, equally surprised by the interruption. Hermione was horrified. She almost let him draw her in again! He scowled, the expression still making him look dangerously handsome. It wasn't fair.

"Fuck. Come with me tomorrow. I'll pick you up at seven. No excuses." He growled. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, rearranging her dress. She straightened his tie, all while he glared daggers at the wall behind her. There was such a thing as small miracles. She didn't know what would have transpired if she stayed in that office any longer.

"Thank you for the interview, Mr. Malfoy" Hermione said robotically. Even with the moment ruined, she could still feel her skin prickle in awareness.

"My pleasure, Miss Granger." He purred. He guided her to the door, his hand on the small of her back. They exited together, the cool air of the lobby welcome against her over-heated skin.

"Do you have a jacket?" He asked looking straight at her. He pointedly ignored Blonde-Number-Two as she ran off to get her coat. She nodded. As soon as the blonde came back, he took the jacket from her before Hermione could get to it. He held it out for her, helping it on. She couldn't help but feel slightly touched at his gesture. Malfoy walked her to the elevator, pressing the button. When she stepped into the small compartment, she couldn't help the odd mixture of relief and slight bereft as she left his hold.

"Tomorrow, seven. No excuses." Malfoy reminded her. She nodded once, gazing into his intense, grey eyes. The door closed, cutting off their staring contest.

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. What the hell just happened? This was Draco-Sodding-Malfoy! Childhood tormenter, and pompous git extraordinaire. She knew that they weren't accurate descriptions any longer, he had shown himself to be a changed man. The fact that he openly said he wanted to fuck her, a mudblood, showed his prejudiced beliefs were indisposed of. He was honestly a good catch, everything Hermione had ever wanted, and she couldn't help that intense pull of attraction.

As soon as she signed out, she left the building. She could have apparated from there, but she needed to feel the cool London air against her skin. She was still overheating, and was surprised the water didn't hiss into steam upon coming into contact with her. She sighed for the thousandth time and apparated to her flat. Her mind was consumed by blond hair, grey eyes, and aggressive masculinity. Only one thought was repeating itself in her mind. What the hell had she gotten herself into?