all characters belong to JKR
Chapter 24: Rude:
Draco held back from kissing Hermione for a moment. He lifted his head and looked at her, leaving her lips wanting more. His hand on her belly moved slowly upward to caress one breasts under the smooth cotton of her dress. She grasped his shoulders tightly, for if she let go, she feared she might drown. He bent his head and kissed her nipple over the barrier of her cotton dress, just a fleeting, warm kiss, which opened a dam of longing in her.
He lifted his head and said, "Do you want your birthday present now or later?"
"Are you my birthday present?" she asked.
To which he smiled and said, "I'm absolutely anything you want me to be. Your birthday present," he kissed her cheek, "Your engagement present," he kissed her lips, "Your mine forever present," he kissed the other cheek, "Your not getting fired present," he kissed her forehead, "or your not quitting present." He kissed her lips again. "And that, my dear Granger, is for once the truth."
He smirked at her and said, "Although, if you want another truth, which you always seem to think is so important, your real birthday present is the offer on that last little triangle, which you have yet to open. I want you to open it tonight, and give me your answer. However, if you want me to be your present too, you shall unwrap me now." His fingertips floated softly against one bare breast, making her nipple hard and erect. She shut her eyes.
"You're driving me crazy," she said. What did he mean by the statement, 'that's the truth?' And moreover, what did he mean when he said, 'your not getting fire or your not quitting present'? Did he mean, 'You're' or 'Your'? Did he have a better solution in mind? Was her true birthday present 'him' with no strings attached, but yet with something resembling wedding bells? Was he back to that? What was written on that last note?
She opened her eyes again and put one hand on his chest, to feel his beating heart. Suddenly, she pulled his hand away from her breast, and out from under her dress. She was slightly embarrassed that her dress was hiked up to her waist, but at least the room was somewhat dark. She held onto his wrist and her look was undecipherable to Draco. She looked serious, but calm, pensive but decisive. She was going to ask him what he meant. She was going to read what was in that note before tonight.
He knew that she was probably about to do or say something that would royally piss him off. She would demand that he stop 'waking her up' so they could discuss ways for her to be fired or something inane like that. Or else, she would want to throw another fit about getting married. Maybe she even wanted to read the note before tonight.
He decided he had to act quickly, to throw her off track, so he bent his head again and kissed her mouth hard.
He looked at her again, his face directly above hers, and he said, "I want you to decide what you want for your birthday, and if it's in my power to give it to you, I will, but you have to decide. I'm out of this now. The only thing I request from you is that you don't read that last note until after your birthday dinner tonight."
"Do you want to know what I really want for my birthday?" she asked, moving so that she was on her side. He moved to his side, to face her, their heads sharing a pillow.
"I'm waiting with bated breath," he muttered.
"I want you to kiss me again," she said, because that too was the truth. Right now she didn't care what he meant by his statement, and she didn't give a fig what was written on that last note. Her hands went under his shirt to span the expanse of his chest. He shifted so that his arm was under her head, and he lowered his lips to touch hers. A slow, deliberate meeting of mouths occurred. He kissed her with such an overwhelming affection that she felt all of her resolve melting away. Something about his kiss reached all the way down to her toes. She tingled all over. This really was all she wanted now, and when she realized that, she knew that he was right earlier. She would probably make love to him before the night was over.
And would that really be so bad? Would that be a mistake, even if they did end the weekend at an impasse? Even if they decided not to continue to see each other? Wouldn't it be nice to at least have the memory of their time together? It was her birthday, so shouldn't she get what she wanted?
She felt helpless as his hand went up her bare leg, and he murmured her name as he continued to kiss her face. She left limp and boneless as he sought peace that only she could provide. His kisses were the most awe-inspiring kisses she had ever received. He kissed her repeatedly, soft, warm, inviting, agonizingly slow kisses that built in intensity, so much so that she felt as if she was slipping off the face of the earth.
Her hands grasped his forearms, then his neck, and climbed to his hair, to push his face closer. They continued to kiss and caress for many, many long moments, and neither wanted it to stop.
She sighed as he kissed the hollow of her throat, his hand on the outside of her dress, touching, caressing, and torturing her to the brink of insanity. His kisses were demanding. Demanding, seeking and rapturous, and he was well aware that she held his destiny in her beautiful hands, and not the other way around, and that was an uneasy revelation for him to make. Then for some reason, he suddenly stopped.
He stopped kissing her to place his head on her chest. Her heart was beating faster than a hummingbird's wing. He had to stop, because this wasn't the way it was meant to be. He had everything pictured perfectly in his mind, and though this was the way he wanted the day to end, it wasn't yet the end. If they continued, she might regret it, and never read that last note. He couldn't have that. Someone had to be the strong one, and although Draco knew that he was usually the weak one, this one time he would do the right thing.
He took a deep breath and said, "In due time, my Granger. We have all night. Hell, we have a lifetime, if you want, but right now, we have to stop. You just have to read that last note, after your birthday, and then give me an answer." He looked up from her and asked, "Where is the note?"
She couldn't answer, because she was confused and still dazed, so she pointed to her purse. He had his wand out before she knew it and he summoned the note to his hand. He stuffed it in his pocket. Finally, he said, "This is painful for me to say, but I really do have dinner and then something special planned for you in my room, so I have to go. I definitely want to continue this later, though."
"Oh, Draco," she said. She didn't even know what she meant by it, but he must have known, because he responded.
"I know, sweetheart." He crawled off the bed, stood in the doorway of her bedroom, held out his hand to her, and said, "Isn't this the best blind date in the world?" He smiled widely, and left her room, his note in his hand.
He took the lifts up to the top floor, and then he walked down the hallway to the penthouse. Though he knew in his heart-of-hearts that stopping things before it went too far was the right thing to do, he shouldn't have stopped kissing her. If he had kept kissing her, she would have relented, made love to him, and then she wouldn't be able to leave him, because he wouldn't let her, but he didn't want to manipulate her any longer. He wanted it to be her choice.
He couldn't lose her. His pursuit of happiness began when he took her hand during that staff meeting in his office, continued when he pretended to be her blind date, and would continue the rest of their lives, if she didn't do something to screw it up, and he had absolutely no regrets about that. He had spent his whole life searching for something he didn't even know existed, and finally he was no longer searching. He found what he wanted; now he had to hold onto it. He had to be smart, or he would lose it all.
The last note was smart. His plan to trap her into marriage earlier today wasn't smart, and it probably would never have worked, so he was partly pleased that she had figured it out. Oh, if it had worked, he would have been just as pleased (and he would be on his honeymoon right now, which would have been pleasant, too), but he knew it was a far-fetched scheme, hence his backup plan, the last note. Her little plan to be fired, or quit, was about as reasonable as his marriage plan. No, the only thing that made sense, besides the unthinkable thing of not seeing her any longer, was what he had written on that last triangle.
How would she react when she read it? Would she dismiss it before she even thoroughly read it? Would she bark at the contents, and say that she couldn't accept such a lavish birthday present? Had she maybe already read it? He didn't think so. Knowing her as well as he did, he knew that if she had already read it, she would want to discuss it to death.
He would ask her to read it tonight. She would fuss about the particulars, he realized that, but she was smart. She would see that it was a solid plan, one that made righteous sense, and one that would work for everyone.
It had to work.
He leaned against the outside of the door to his rooms, closed his eyes, and let his mind wander. He allowed his fancy to linger on the very real feeling of kissing her. The way he played with her mouth, kissing, licking, plunging deeper into its depths, seeking truth and passion. His hands could almost feel the way her body felt when he touched her. He loved the way her breasts felt, and he knew that when he finally got to see them, he would love them even more.
Removing his mouth from hers was akin to true agony, but remove it he had to do, so that he could prepare for tonight. It was more important to prepare for a lifetime, than to revel in a moment.
He opened the door and walked in, and imagined that he was once again drinking from the fountain of her lips, moving his lips languidly from her mouth, to her neck, and then to her collarbone. Her hands roamed his shoulders, his back, and then went up to pull his hair. It seemed, to him, that it was happening right now.
Nevertheless, leaving was the right thing to do. He knew it, and tonight, when she gave him her answer, he would have his confirmation that it was better not to take her completely, until he could have her and not have to worry about her running away, or having to give her back. Once he had her, he wasn't sure he would ever be able to give her back.
He threw himself on his couch, threw his arm over his eyes, and reminisced the way she squirmed under him. She made throaty little moans, and twice she said his name. He was hard again, just thinking of it. He didn't want to stop, but he did. He caressed her skin with his fingertips, and then he somehow found the power and strength to stop.
He sat up, looked at his hands, which tingled from the thought of touching her, and said aloud, "You're such a fool, Draco Malfoy. You had her in the palm of her hand, but you did the honorable thing, and you stopped. You didn't even lie to her. What's become of you?" He kicked off his shoes, threw the little triangle note from his pocket onto the coffee table, and walked to the bathroom to take a cold shower.
In one hour's time, she would come up here, they would share a meal, he would give her a token of affection for her birthday, and then he would get her to read that blasted note, and she would say 'yes' and all would be put to rights.
Unless she messed it up, damn it.
He stood in the bathroom, in only a towel, when he heard a timid knock on his door, and he knew before he opened it that it was she. He jaunted to the door, flung it open, and said, "Why are you here? You're early."
"What does it say?" she asked. "I need to know."
He knew she meant the note. "I want you to open it tonight. Can't you wait?" he asked.
"I don't think so," she admitted. "Is it something that will make it good birthday, or a difficult one?"
He pulled her into the room, made sure the towel was tucked safely around his waist, and hissed, "Why, Granger, why? Why are you so difficult? Why do you make my life miserable? Why did I have to fall for someone who was such a harpy?"
Her brows knitted and she said, "Harpy?" She would ignore that for a moment and asked, "Just answer this, did you stop kissing me down there as payback for when I got you all hot and bothered before our trip today? You know, when I came out in the hallway in just my knickers, shoes, and towel?"
He sat down on a chair opposite the couch, threw up his legs to rest on the top of the coffee table (she averted her eyes, because he was in only a towel, for goodness sakes), and pointed at her. He laughed as he said, "I knew you were just playing the innocent earlier!"
"Yes, yes, you're smart," she lolled with a roll of her eyes. "If you're playing me, to get me hot and bothered, then it won't work."
"Why is that?" he asked. "Is it because you plan on, gasp, having sex with me tonight? Or was that my plan all along?" He looked at her with a cocky expression and waited for her response.
"Oh, Draco," she said. She sat down, tried not to look up his towel, stood back up, and said, "Until I know what will happen with us after this weekend, I'm not having sex with you, I promise you that."
He threw his head back, rolled it back and forth and moaned, "Oh, Draco, yes, Draco, that feels good Draco, oh don't stop, Draco." He looked at her and said, "That was you earlier. I could have had you ten ways to Sunday down there, but I did the honorable thing, decided I should hold back until tonight, so it could be done right, and not rushed, and now you think I'm playing you? You're insane, and I'm frankly done with this. Furthermore, I think you're incredibly rude at the moment, Granger!" He stood up and said, "Read the damn note. I don't care."
He walked back toward the bathroom and said, "I'm getting a shower. It was going to be a cold one, but you've put enough of a damper on my mood with your insanity that now it'll be a warm one. If you want your birthday dinner, and present, then come back up here in an hour. If you don't, then don't. If you want to go ahead and read the effing note, read it. If you want to wait, then wait." He slammed the bathroom door, and when he was on the other side of it, away from her he yelled, "It's up to you! It's all up to you! Everything's up to you! You hold all the cards! Make your bloody decision!"
"Well speaking of rude, that was rude," she said as she walked out of the room, picking up the note from the coffee table before she left.