Chapter One: The Potions Master Is Flirting
Ella's POV
Grandpa Paul left us with his 'servant', that we didn't know he had to begin with, while he went to the store. Then he's supposed to come back, drop off the groceries and leave us with that man again while he goes to rehearsal. I tried to convince him to just go ahead and leave us on our own. I could take care of my siblings myself, but he still left us here with a babysitter…or so I thought until I met the man. For a few seconds I couldn't take my eyes off of him. As a matter of fact I was so mesmerized by the sight of him that I didn't even manage to catch his name.
Severus Snape had wild, shoulder- length, raven colored hair and black eyes that I could have fallen into, given the chance. I'd always been attracted to men with long hair. This man was no exception. He's dressed in black leather boots, black jeans, a button up black shirt that looked tight across his chest, and a long, black leather jacket. He didn't looked muscled, but he was obviously well-built, and I was surprised to hear him speak in a British accent when Zak introduced himself, which is probably why I didn't catch his name. For some reason I'd always had a thing for British accents as well.
"I'm Zak," my brother had informed him, extending his hand.
"Pleasure," the man had replied silkily, accepting it.
Bethany, on the other hand, had said something mean about his nose behind his back.
After grandpa left and I made sure Zak and Beth weren't about to kill each other anytime soon, I decided I needed time to breathe, so I informed the 'babysitter' that I would be upstairs. I had enough courage to catch his eye twice before I retired to the room my siblings and I stay in while we're here in Oklahoma City. I grabbed my book of poetry off a side table and laid down on the bed to start reading, but ended up daydreaming about the 'babysitter' instead.
Severus moves slowly, but steadily, up the stairs, thinking carefully about what he should say to her. He'd read a book while Zak and Beth had fallen asleep, Zack on the couch and Beth in the recliner. After that, curiosity had gotten the better of him and he couldn't resist going to check on the eldest. By the time he reached her door, he'd decided to merely inform her that her sibling were most likely going to be sleeping downstairs this evening. He would see where it went from there. The girl intrigued him, he couldn't deny that. He could tell that there was more to her than met the eye, but he could quite place his finger on what exactly it was.
He knocks twice on the door and waited for her to answer before going in. He steps into the room and closes the door behind him.
"Your brother and sister fell asleep on the couch." He tells her smoothly.
She nods. He studies her carefully.
She's lying on what he could only assume was her bed, her legs sprawled out over the quilt, her long, soft looking, dark red hair almost falling across her face. Her beautiful yet guarded green eyes stare at him with a subtle, almost cautious, curiosity. He quickly pushes away the unwelcome, rather indecent thoughts that appear in his mind and catches site of a blue book lying on the floor next to her bed.
"You've been reading?" he questions, looking back up at her.
Much to his frustration, she nods again.
"May I question, why, exactly you refuse to speak to me?" he asks smoothly, raising an eyebrow at her.
She studies him hesitantly and slowly sits up. There was obviously a large age gap between them, but she wasn't under age. She figured a little flirting wouldn't hurt.
"Well, maybe if you stopped taking my breath away I could." She answers teasingly.
His eyes widen in surprise. If he didn't know any better, he could almost assume that she was hitting on him. After a moment's hesitation he relaxes and allows a bit of amusement to grace his features. He allows his gaze to leave hers, taking the opportunity to sweep slowly down her form before replying, "Perhaps, if you weren't so beautiful, I wouldn't be so eager to take your breath away."
He studies her as her lips part in surprise, and quickly pushes away thoughts of introducing them to his own. He hadn't been this drawn to anyone in a long time…and she obviously hadn't expected him to encourage this type of interaction. He curses silently at the realization that the first woman in years that he found himself attracted to, just so happened to be one that he couldn't even consider claiming…then again, he'd never been one to let rules stand between him and anything that benefitted him.
Quickly recovering, she counters, "Me? Beautiful? I think you've been staring into mirrors too much today. You obviously still have your reflection in your mind's eye."
He laughs, causing her to smile.
"I suppose that means you wouldn't mind if I sat down?" he questions simply.
"Go ahead," she answers, not meeting his gaze, "I'm used to my view being blocked, anyways."
He lifts an eyebrow as it dawns on him that she was referring to his back side.
"So I have a nice arse, now do I?" he asks, moving to sit down next to her.
"I wouldn't expect you to notice. It's not as though you can see for yourself, is it?" she returns with a smirk. sitting up.
"I don't believe I've ever been flirted with like this." He muses.
"Then either the women where you're from are cowards, or they weren't good at it." She replies, shifting to face him.
"Quite the contrary, I wasn't good enough for them." He corrects her.
"Either they were blind and deaf, or they didn't know what good was." She returns. She hesitates before adding, "What did you say your name was?"
"Ah! So you were hitting on, not only a man nearly old enough to be your father, but also one who's name you don't even remember? Are you sure that's wise?" he points out teasingly.
"Are you sure it's wise to hit on your boss's granddaughter?" she counters effortlessly.
"Touché" he agrees, studying her. "Would you like me to stop?"
"No," she replies quickly.
After a moment's hesitation he says, "My name is Severus Snape…and you have the most beautiful green eyes."
She laughs, "Thank you, Sir."
"Call me Severus." He corrects her.
"How long have you been working for my grandpa, Severus?" she asks curiously.
"I was hired for ten years, this is my sixth." He answers, choosing his words carefully, "And for how long do you and your sibling plan on staying?"
"We're leaving on Saturday, unless we decide to go home before then." She replies, studying him.
She had driven her siblings to the city herself. They lived two and a half hours away.
"May I ask you something?" He requests hesitantly curious as to her motives.
"Anything, but I don't promise an answer." She agrees guardedly.
"Were you serious when you said I took your breath away, or is this just a game you play with strangers?"
"I'm not one for one night stands, if that's what you're asking." She replies, looking down at her hands, suddenly afraid that she'd gone too far with the flirting.
"No," he assures her, studying her discomfort. She pulled away from him. Perhaps not physically, but mentally she closed herself off. That wasn't what he'd intended. "I don't do one night stands, Ella."
She meets his gaze hesitantly before continuing, "Then yes, I was serious when I said you took my breath away."
He smirks.
They were silent for a moment before she spoke up again. "Taking that fact into consideration, you'll understand if I'd like to have an excuse to touch you. Thumb wrestle me."
He laughs softly, raising an eyebrow. "Thumb wrestle?"
"Yes, thumb wrestle." She smiles.
"Very well, though I feel obliged to inform you that you don't need an 'excuse' to touch me." He agrees slyly, taking her hand in his.
"Is that so?" she replies teasingly, "We'll see if you still feel the same once I've kicked your arse."
"Out! Now!" Paul snaps angrily at Severus.
He quickly obeys, jumping off the bed rushing out the door without so much as a backwards glance. He knew what it looked like. They had been thumb wrestling with their foreheads almost touching, and he very seriously doubted Paul would take kindly to a man flirting with his granddaughter…especially one that was a banished wizard convict nearly twice her age. He stood silently at the end of the hallway and listened as Paul ordered her to bed and slammed the door behind him.
"What the hell do you think you were doing with my granddaughter?" Paul yells at him once they're a safe distance from the room.
"Thumb wrestling," Severus replies simply.
"What?" Paul questions, the answer catching him by surprise.
"We were thumb wrestling and talking, Sir, that's all. I realize what it looked like, but you should know that I wouldn't harm her." Severus explains in an attempt to placate him.
Paul studies him suspiciously for a moment before giving in.
"Then I suppose I overreacted. I should have known you two would get along…you're a lot alike."
"We are…somewhat alike, I suppose." Severus admits agreeably, though he wasn't quite sure what they had in common.
"More than you realize," Paul mutters. "Just be careful with her. She's had a rough past."
"Would you like for me to return to the hotel?" Severus questions wearily.
"No, there's no reason now that they know you're here." The old man points out, "Go get your things and check out. Just don't tell the kids much about yourself."