{ Chapter Twelve }
Draco stepped into his study next to Hermione. He watched her for a moment as she looked around at the unfamiliar room, but soon he found his mind wandering to the kiss they had shared at the Ministry. A part of him had dreaded marrying Hermione. Being disowned had only been one of his concerns. The two of them did not exactly have a good history and they really didn't know each other at all. At best he thought it would be uncomfortable living with her for at least a year. Blaise had been less optimistic. He had given them two weeks of living together before they would be ready to kill each other.
What Draco hadn't expected was the attraction, the spark, and the desire that he was feeling. That kiss changed everything. What did it mean? What did it represent?
A movement to his right caught his eye and he looked up to see Hermione pacing in front of the desk. She was mumbling to herself. He couldn't quite understand her so he stepped closer so he could hear her. She didn't seem to realize that he was listening to her.
"…and that kiss was amazing. I mean, it actually made me want more, and I've never wanted more. Oh Merlin! What if it made him want more, too? That would mean sex, and I'm not good at sex. At all. He'll be disappointed and then we'll end up being awkward and counting down the days until we can get away from each other. And just because I've never enjoyed sex doesn't mean that he doesn't. He's a man right? Every man enjoys sex. And I can't really expect him to go a whole year without, can I? Fuck. I really shouldn't have kissed him." She stopped pacing and covered her face with her hands as she took a deep breath.
Draco stood, dumbfounded as he listened to her rambling. His mind reeled at the things she was saying. She couldn't really think that he would do that to her, did she? He swallowed thickly as he realized that she had just spent five years living with a man that would, and most likely did force himself on her. He was just thinking about how they didn't really know each other. For all she knew, he might be just like that asshole Weasley.
"Hermione," he stepped in front of her and gently pulled her hands away from her face. Her cheeks were tinged bright pink.
"I just said that all that out loud, didn't I?" Her brown eyes were wide and her voice was slightly louder than a whisper.
"You did, yeah." He smirked at her before reaching up and hooking her hair back behind her ear. "Let's just take a step back here, okay? We're obviously attracted to each other, which is unexpected but not a bad thing."
He tilted her chin up so that she was looking into his eyes and hoped that his expression conveyed the sincerity that he felt. He needed her to believe him because what he was about to say was the most important thing that he had probably ever said to anyone.
"I need you to understand this. I will never force you to do anything that you don't want to do. Never. When we sleep together…if we sleep together, it will be because you want to."
She searched his eyes for a long moment before nodding her head slowly to let him know that she understood. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
"I'm not him, Hermione."
The façade she had kept up all day crumbled as the enormity of the day's events finally hit her with full force. Her shoulders shook as sobs overtook her. Draco didn't have a lot of experience with women having emotional breakdowns, but he hesitated only a moment before gathering her in his arms and letting her cry.
He didn't know how long they stood there. It might have been five minutes or two hours. However long it took, he held her until the tears stopped and she was breathing normally again. She stepped away from him slowly and wiped the tears from her face.
"I'm sorry, Draco," she said with a small laugh. "I'm such a mess."
"Don't be sorry. It's fine." He performed a quick drying spell on his shirt. "What do you say to some dinner? Then I'll give you a tour of the house."
She nodded in agreement and let him lead her down the hall to the dining room. Pinky had prepared them a grilled chicken dinner with salad and potatoes. He wondered if she would say anything about the small elf that was setting the table when they walked in, but she didn't say a word about it. She didn't even seem to notice the small creature.
They ate slowly and didn't talk much at all other than a few words here and there. It wasn't uncomfortable, though, they were just both lost in their own thoughts.
When they were finished eating, the meal and the plates disappeared and was replaced with a box wrapped in silver paper.
Hermione eyed the box for a long moment before she laughed lightly.
"Do you always get presents with your meals?"
Draco rolled his eyes at her implication. Yes, he was a spoiled brat in school. It's not like they were still in school, was it? Not to mention he had been disowned only hours earlier.
He opened the envelope and pulled out a wedding card. He opened it to find his mother's signature on the inside. He really should have known.
"It's a wedding gift from my Mother." He noticed that she stiffened, automatically on alert. "Don't worry, Mother has nothing against you; or us for that matter. I'm pretty sure she's just thrilled that I'm not gay."
Her eyes widened and she couldn't hold in her laughter.
"There is nothing wrong with it if you are, Draco."
"Very funny, Hermione." Though he wasn't thrilled that she was laughing at his masculinity, the sound of her laugh was worth it. He opened the box and removed a white wedding book and a silver picture frame. Both were engraved with the words "Draco & Hermione Malfoy, September 1, 2013".
"Awe. That was really sweet of her." Hermione picked up the book and started flipping through the pages. Of course they were all blank, except for one. On the page titled 'How we met' there was a picture. Her fingertips glided over the picture as she studied the image.
They were in Flourish and Blotts buying their school books. Hermione was standing on the stairs overlooking the first floor. Draco was standing at the bottom of the stairs. From the look of their uniforms, they must have been in fifth year. They turned at the same time and met each other's eyes.
They didn't sneer at each other. They didn't reach for their wands. They just stood there.
"I remember that day." She handed him the book so he could look at the picture. "Funny how in that moment we don't look like we hate each other."
Draco watched the moving picture for a long moment. He remembered that day as well. When she had turned towards him, the sunlight had filtered through the window to glow softly behind her making her look quite radiant. It almost took his breath away.
"In that moment I'm not sure that we did." He closed the book with a snap.
"It didn't last long." She smirked at him as she remembered that day and what happened in the following moments. "When I tried to walk past you, you tripped me. I broke my wrist when I fell down the stairs."
"I couldn't have people thinking I was being nice to you, now could I?" Draco rolled his eyes at the thought. Back then, that would have been the worst thing he could do. "Not to mention, my Father was watching, so I had to make an ass out of myself. I had a perfect opportunity, I took it. And then you hit me with a stinging hex right in the face. I looked like I had been attacked by an entire bee-hive for the next eight hours."
Enough time had passed and they had both grown up enough that they could look back on these immature moments and laugh at themselves, and laugh they did.
Since they were both finished eating, Draco took her on a tour of the house as promised. On the ground floor were the study, the kitchen and dining room, and a sitting room. The second floor held the bedrooms.
He opened the door to the master suite first and she tentatively stepped inside. It was decorated beautifully in earth tones with a king size bed and a walk in closet that was big enough to house her former bedroom.
"I have to tell you, I expected green and silver."
"Of course you did." He laughed at her joke, but his mind was elsewhere, namely on the beautiful brunette standing only inches from his bed. He swallowed thickly. "So, um, your room is across the hall."
She stopped what she was doing and turned to look at him.
"My room? I had assumed…" her face flushed bright red and she averted her eyes.
"Not until you're ready. Come on." He led her back out to the hallway and opened the door on the other side. He had the room decorated in shades of purple and white. The room was slightly smaller than his. There was a queen sized bed and a walk in closet. There was also a balcony overlooking the backyard.
The two bedrooms were joined by the master bathroom, which held a four-head walk in shower and a bathtub that was big enough to be a small pool.
"I have to tell you, Malfoy, I think I'm in love with your bathtub. I will be spending long hours in there, I assure you."
"Well, before you dive in, there is one more room that I'm pretty sure you'll like. Follow me."
Intrigued, she followed him down the hall and up the staircase to the third floor. As she stepped through the doorway she couldn't believe her eyes. The entire third floor was a library with floor to ceiling shelves overloaded with books.
Draco smirked to himself at the look on her face. He had known she would love this room, probably as much, if not more than he did.
"This is absolutely perfect." Her whole face lit up with her smile. She surprised Draco by wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. "I love it!" she whispered in his ear.
"I figured you would. It's getting late. I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."
She readily agreed, but was reluctant to leave the library without exploring it first.
They went back downstairs and Draco stopped in front of the door to the spare bedroom. He had the urge to kiss her one more time, which he tried to suppress. Really, he did. But then she looked up at him from under those thick lashes and he lost his self control. He leaned in and kissed her. Like the kiss at the Ministry, this one started slow but quickly grew in intensity. A small part of him worried that she felt like he was pressuring her. That part stopped worrying when she tangled her fingers in his hair and shoved her tongue in his mouth. He captured it, sucked on it. She moaned deeply and her knees weakened. His hands splayed across her back gripped her tighter so she wouldn't fall.
He knew he needed to slow down soon or he wouldn't be able to stop. He slowed the kiss down and stepped back away from her. She tried to follow him, but he stopped her gently.
"I can't Hermione. I don't know how much self-control you think I have, but we're getting very close to the limit. We need to stop now." Although he was saying they needed to stop, his hands were still running gently up and down her arms and he was peppering her face and neck with small kisses.
She bit her lip gently as she thought about what he was saying. She didn't want to have sex with him tonight. Well, she did, obviously. Her body was ready, but her mind wasn't.
"Right then. We're stopping now." She kissed him one more time slowly before backing away. "Good night, Draco."
She turned to go into the bedroom, but Draco put his hands on her waist, stopping her with her back turned to him. He stepped up behind her and kissed her neck tenderly. She leaned into him and moaned softly, tilting her head to the side to provide better access. If he kept that up, her body was going to overrule her mind.
"When you're ready, Hermione, I will make you feel better than you ever have before. I guarantee that you will enjoy every minute," he whispered before kissing her neck one last time, then turning away and going to his room, where he intended to take a very cold shower.
Hermione's heart was beating fast as she closed the door behind her. She reached up and touched the spot on her neck where his lips had been only moments before. He had already made her feel better than she ever had before. And yes, she had enjoyed it immensely. She could only imagine what it would feel like to do more with him, and imagine it she did as she lay in bed alone that night and dreamt of her new husband.
AN: Again, sorry for the late posting. I'm getting behind in my schedule and need to get caught back up. I'm going to post an extra chapter this weekend, then I'll be back on schedule. Thank you all for reading. If you have a minute, drop me a review and let me know what you think. :)