Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.
Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.
A/N: I know I haven't updated in forever, and I'm sorry for that. I once again don't have a valid excuse for my absence, so as always... I will blame Cailtin. Yes, it was Cailtin's doing, somehow. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter! I know it's been a while, an exact year, since I last updated, but I haven't abandoned this story.
Chapter Twenty
Hermione looked behind her shoulder, making sure that the blond wizard still had his back to her. Releasing a sigh of relief, she once again tried undoing her bra.
After a few minutes, she muttered an expletive out of pure frustration. To her, it felt strange to curse, but she found it fitting for her current situation.
She was nearly nude, in a bathroom, with a half-naked Malfoy only a few feet away from her.
For a moment, she pressed her trembling fingers to her temples, closing her eyes, trying to will the dizziness in her head to go away.
It was no use.
She resumed her efforts, but she still couldn't reach the hooks of her bra with her injured shoulder. During her first few attempts she had managed to fiddle with the hooks, but now her sore shoulder was no longer cooperating with her, and her hands had begun trembling too much from the exertion, making the simple task seem even more daunting.
Hermione thought it was ridiculous how uncooperative her body was being. With renewed determination, she tried reaching for the hooks, causing her strained muscles to protest.
"What the devil is taking you so long?" harshly asked Draco, impatiently tapping his slender fingers on the wall in front of him. He had been staring at the wall for so long now that he had unconsciously committed the intricate patterns of the marble to memory.
His notoriously short patience was rapidly diminishing.
He already had, unnecessarily, spent a good five minutes arguing with the mudblood that his presence was required in order for her injured body to heal, and in case of an accidental slip, and now she was taking what felt like an eternity to undress herself.
Hermione winced at his words. She could sense the rising anger in his voice. As hard as she wished it otherwise, she knew she was going to have to ask him for help, seeing as he was the only other individual in the bathroom.
Mortification swept through her with that sudden realization.
"I need help with my bra," she found herself answering, continuing her clumsy attempts to remove the garment.
A small hiss of pain escaped the small witch's lips.
Draco whirled around. From what he could see, she had taken off all of her clothing, except her undergarments. He could tell from her increasingly stiff movements that she was going to seriously hurt herself if she didn't stop.
Hermione heard him shift behind her. Carefully, she turned around to face him, covering her chest with her arms.
Draco studied her form, his cold grey eyes widening slightly as he took in how frail and wounded she looked.
Her skin was so pale, it nearly seemed translucent. Glancing over her slender body, he could see darkening bruises marring the smooth skin of her chest, despite her efforts to cover them. Her rounded abdomen had a particularly nasty bruise on it. There was dried blue-tinged blood that had trickled down her legs, and her hair was matted with what also appeared to be blood.
Guilt and an overwhelming sense of rage washed over him. He could have spared her from those wounds if he had gotten to her faster.
If he could kill the men that had done this her at least a dozen times over, it still wouldn't be enough for him. A small part of him regretted having ended their lives so quickly. He had shown them mercy, when he should have given them both a slow, merciless death.
Hermione nervously shifted her feet, growing anxious by Malfoy's studious gaze and silence.
He moved then, gracefully gliding toward her, his muscles rippling underneath his alabaster skin.
In a matter of seconds, he was directly in front of her.
Her breath hitched, up close he was too big, too tall, causing her heartbeat to frantically thunder in her ears.
She could feel the heat emanating from his nearly nude body.
His pale, grey eyes moved over her face, a frown forming on his own as his gaze wandered lower.
Draco's large hands grabbed her thin arms, gently pulling on them, urging her to display her injured chest to him.
As soon as his skin made contact with hers, Hermione felt a pleasing jolt of warmth spread throughout her trembling body.
For a moment, their eyes locked, a heated message of awareness arching between them.
She instinctively backed away from him, from the way his soothing touch made her feel.
Draco moved with her, never breaking the unyielding grip he had on her arms.
Hermione felt the cold sliding shower door make contact with her bare back and instantly felt vulnerable.
A wave of fear suddenly slammed into her.
Trapped, she stood very still, blinking up at the tall, grey-eyed wizard
"Let me see," he said softly, moving closer.
Hermione's small, blunt teeth tugged at her lower lip. Somewhere, deep inside her, she knew he wouldn't stop until she showed him, until she gave him what he wanted.
Draco's body was burning with lust. He watched, fascinated by the way she unconsciously bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood. She released the hold she had on her lower lip, and then used her tongue to lick away the small bead of blood.
She was driving wild with desire, and she wasn't even aware of it.
Their bodies were now almost pressed together, only a few inches separating them.
With each step he took, Hermione felt her sensitized body react to his, and in spite of her wariness, a slow, burning desire began coursing through her system.
She was acutely aware of his masculine scent.
The muscles etched his powerful chest, his broad shoulders, and the ridges of his abs that seemed to be carved from marble also briefly caught her attention.
Tearing her gaze from his sculpted body, she tilted her head back looking over his chiseled features, steeling herself for what she was about to say.
"I'll show you, if you stop doing that," answered Hermione, her voice thick and breathless. The foreign voice didn't seem to belong to her.
It embarrassed her how wanton she sounded even to her own ears.
Draco halted his movements when he heard the sultry voice. A blond eyebrow arched in confusion as he took notice of the small, appreciative glance she gave his body.
For a long moment his grey gaze roamed over her face, intrigued by the color staining her face.
A faint smirk touched his mouth. Pulling her closer, Draco seductively whispered into her ear, "Stop what?"
The low, husky voice sent delicious shivers down the brunette's spine.
Out of habit, Hermione's small, pink tongue darted out to moisturize her dry lips.
Draco felt himself harden as erotic images of what that tongue of hers could do to him flashed in his mind.
He knew his desire-filled mind was clouding his judgment.
Hermione felt him release her arms, and pull her body into his, pressing the hardness of his body onto the softness of hers.
She closed her eyes at the sensations pouring through her. Her body felt hot, even though she was almost nude.
His hands rested on her tiny waist, slid up towards her ribcage, and then made their way to her back. His strong arms closed around her petite frame, dwarfing her with his much larger one.
Hermione's eye flew open when she felt him undo her bra.
She hastily tried holding the bra in place, but he grabbed her delicate wrists.
"Don't," he said, his voice taking an authoritative edge.
Looking up into his silver eyes, she could see the warning in them.
Her lashes fluttered downwards escaping his gaze, but Draco reached out and captured her chin, forcing her to look at him as he carefully, with infinite gentleness, removed the straps from her shoulders, dragging his hands over the exposed skin.
Wherever his hands touched, her skin burned.
He began doing the same with her underwear, his hands lingering on her outer thighs, but she stopped him.
Her eyes connected with his.
Hermione noticed that his usually cold eyes were warming into liquid mercury, lust clearly shining in them. She removed her hands from his larger ones, and allowed him to remove her underwear.
Now fully naked, Draco urged her into the shower stall.
The warm water cascaded over her, weighing down her hair, and cleansing her body.
Through the silvery curtains of water, she could see him getting undressed.
Draco let the towel that was haphazardly wrapped around his narrow hips crash onto the bathroom floor, no longer being able to stand how it felt against his sensitized skin.
Hermione nervously swallowed the lump forming in her throat as she took in his masculine body.
"You want this as much as I do," huskily said Draco, noticing the apprehension in her eyes.
He stepped into the shower stall with her.
The rivulets of water streaming down his body made the brunette blush as she followed them to their destination.
He was very obviously aroused, and getting closer and closer to her.
"W-want what?" asked Hermione, the words sounding wobbly.
Draco smirked at her, and pressed his body into her, letting her know how much he wanted her.
Her breasts pushed against his flat, defined chest, her nipples hardening.
Hermione felt his intimidating erection pressing against her.
"This," he confessed, a glint of triumph shimmering in his eyes as he felt her shiver in anticipation.
A/N: Thank you for reading! Reviews would be lovely.