Chapter 3
"Shhh, don't wake up," James breathed as he carried the slumbering brunette in his arms towards her bedroom, "I have to go to work but you stay here, sleep a bit longer." He laid her down on the bed and pulled covers over her naked body, which he peered at lustily before draping the covers onto it.
"What time is it?" she whispered.
"Six," he returned, "I need to go home and get changed before I go in and they want me there at seven to discuss where we go next."
"So you'll be leaving again?" she asked trying not to betray her sadness about the fact.
"I don't know what we'll be doing, but I don't think we'll be sent anywhere today."
"Oh, okay," she said opening her eyes more fully and staring at his floppy dark hair and deep brown eyes, she longed to ask him when she might see him again but never pushed their relationship of sorts and waited for him to see or contact her welcoming him willingly and always hoping he would stay a little longer.
"I told you not to wake up," he breathed at her again leaning close and kissing her softly on the lips, he really did think she was pretty when she was sleeping, her face relaxed and her soft long hair draped around her face. "Will you be at the Cauldron tonight?" he asked standing up and hearing her sigh uncontrollably as he moved away.
"I will," she replied looking forward to a Friday night drink at the end of long week.
"I hope to see you there then," he chirped smiling and turning to walk away.
"You mean you'll talk to me?" she teased smiling wryly at him.
"Of course I will," he answered indignantly, "I'll always talk to you!"
"I'm teasing James," she went on laughing at him, "stop feeling so guilty about your dirty little secret!"
"I've told you," he replied walking back over to the bed and sitting down on the edge, "you are not a dirty little secret and I'm not ashamed of you."
"Then stop feeling guilty about it!" she whispered gently taking his hand in hers, "I can be very patient as well as discreet you know, now off to work before they start missing you! I'll see you tonight!" With another kiss and a smile he left her and apparated back to his cold flat where he suddenly felt lonely, he instantly found himself missing her again which in turn led to him feeling guilty once more, something that she had been right about. He did feel guilty about keeping her a secret but still did not want to tell anyone about her, coming out to the world meant showing that his heart had healed and he wasn't sure that it had just yet.
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"Who's James talking to?" Rose asked her best friend that evening in the pub. She and Holly had flooed from her house to the Leaky Cauldron around seven o clock with Salamander who was meeting James in the bar. "She's pretty," Rose went on, "not his usual type at all."
"What he doesn't usually go for pretty girls?" Holly chuckled in reply glancing over to the bar where James was deep in conversation with a young woman who had long dark wavy hair and a curvy body.
"Well yes, he goes for pretty girls but apart from Annemarie he always favoured blondes with big boobs! I thought after what she'd done to him he might go back to his old ways but she's nice, I wonder who she is. Do you know?" she asked as her husband arrived with drinks for the girls.
"Know what?" he asked with a bemused expression.
"Who the leggy brunette is talking to James," Holly explained nodding her head towards the bar, "they look pretty friendly!" she chuckled wiggling her eyebrows. They were deep in conversation, something else which they all noticed was quite strange for James when he was chatting up a girl, and she kept casually dropping her hand on top of his and then removing it quickly as if she had touched something forbidden.
"I don't, no," Sal replied, "though she does look familiar, I think I may have caught her stumbling out of the flat a few months ago when I was collecting some of my stuff. It's no secret that he'd gone back to his old ways in an attempt to get over Annemarie. Mind you having said that he didn't seem to be doing much of that before he went away, perhaps the lack of sex during the mission had put him on heat and he's gone searching for someone to satisfy his needs! We all know what he's like!" he laughed turning to watch his friend who was chuckling at something the girl had said and looking like his old self again.
"Hey guys," said a voice from behind them and they turned to see Dominique standing beside the booth they were occupying. She had flooed in with her sister and two of Victoire's old school friends, Penelope and Sally, all of whom had all made a beeline for the bar on arrival.
"You any idea who the girl over there is?" Rose asked her nodding again at James and the mystery woman who had sidled onto the barstool beside him and was getting increasingly closer to her catch.
Dominique's head swung around and looked at her cousin and his new friend but she shook it in reply, "No idea, he looks quite taken though," she noticed, "maybe she's helping him move on! She's got the boobs that he usually goes for but I thought he'd be back on the blondes by now!"
"That's what we said," Holly laughed as Dominique dropped into the seat beside her, "Sal reckons he's already seen her leaving the flat once and it's not like James to go back for seconds unless he's really interested in a girl! Maybe he's turning a corner!"
"Or maybe he needs a shag after being cooped up in a tent with three other male aurors!" Dominique guffawed and they all fell about laughing before entering into the usual Friday night conversation about their respective weeks at work.
At nine o clock Holly went to the bar to replenish their drinks and found James sat alone, "Been having fun?" she teased digging him in the ribs, as her friend's cousin they had always shared a jokey relationship, even after she had found herself the subject of one of his one night stands.
"Sarah?" he asked smiling at his cousin's friend, "She's just someone I...I once."
"Shagged?" she chuckled, "Yeah I know Sal said he saw her stumbling out of the flat one morning a few months ago."
"Well..." he stuttered and she giggled at him before accepting the drinks that Tom the barman gave her and sauntering back to the booth she had been sitting in with her friends.
"Well he's confirmed that he's shagged her," she told them, "so Sal's eyes work properly!" she teased dropping back into the seat beside Dominique.
"So the mystery is why he's chatting her up again!" Rose said eying him warily, "Maybe his heart is healing after all."
"I still say he just wants an easy lay," Dominique commented turning back to watch the tall, dark haired woman walking back over to James swinging her hips at him. She noticed a slightly annoyed look cross his face but he was polite enough to keep talking to her for a while longer before excusing himself to join his friends in the booth.
"So spill it then!" Dominique said as he sat down with them and glanced back at the girl who had just joined her own friends on the other side of the bar.
"There's nothing to spill," James laughed back, "I just know her from-"
"Shagging her," Dominique cut in.
"No," he replied looking coyly away.
"Liar," Rose returned goading him, "why are you being all shy in front of us?" she asked a little softer, "We all know what you are like! Even Holly remembers your wicked bachelor ways! Who cares if you slept with her James, good for you and if you want to see her again then no one is going to think anything of it you know."
"I don't want to see her again," he protested turning red in the face, "she wouldn't leave me alone, quite annoying really," he went on sounding slightly angry and they all decided to let it drop. James' love life was not a point they wanted to push at the moment knowing that he had been more cut up about Annemarie's betrayal than he had first let on. They all knew he would probably seek out the leggy brunette later in the night and coax her back to the flat again, which judging by the way she had been acting around him wouldn't take much coaxing, so they all let the matter drop and continued with their earlier conversations.
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He caught her coming back from the toilet later and backed her into a hidden alcove near the door to the cellar where he put one hand against the wall and stared down at her, "Hey sexy," he whispered huskily, "I've been watching you."
"I know," she giggled back at him lifting one hand to touch his chest, she slid her fingers between the buttons of his shirt and heard him moan softly as she scratched it.
"Will you be going home?" he asked hopefully staring into her eyes and she smiled at him seductively while nodding her head in reply. His free hand lifted up to touch her waist and he leaned down to kiss her hungrily pushing his tongue into her mouth and feeling her accept him. "Alone?" he breathed heavily as they pulled apart.
"I hope not," she returned and he smiled cockily as his hand moved around to her back so he could pull her close against his body, she keeled to his hold and enjoyed feeling his strong body pinioned so closely to hers, "but what about your friend?" she asked hiding the tinge of jealousy from her voice.
"An old friend," he replied "and in case you hadn't noticed I'm hiding down here with you and not her."
"And the others?" she went on glancing over at the booth where his family sat.
"They'll be leaving soon," he answered.
"And you know where I'll be," she teased kissing him quickly on the lips and grabbing hold of the bulge in his trousers before she twisted from beneath his arm and skipped back into the bar glancing over her shoulder once to see his longing gaze watching her. His eyes were full of lust as she returned to her friends and sat back down, she didn't want to make any assumptions about herself and James Potter but at this moment in time she knew she had him wrapped around her little finger, even if it would only be for the night.
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"You little tease," he whispered half an hour later when he flooed into her living room and shot across it towards her. He had waited until everyone had left him in the bar, all assuming he would seek out the girl he had been talking earlier in the night, before flooing to her home. She had used the time to undress quickly so when he arrived he found her wearing only matching bra and pants while draped across the arm of her leather settee looking provocatively at him.
"I don't know what you mean!" she laughed jumping up from the seat and dashing in the direction of her bedroom door.
"Come here," he said authoritatively and she stopped in her tracks to look at him.
"Oh, I like it when you're commanding!" she returned wiggling her hips at him.
"Then I command that you get over here and finish what you started," he replied with a growl, he was almost panting with desire and watching her lithe, soft, almost naked body jumping around the room was only increasing it more. She stared defiantly back at him through seductive eyes and smiled cheekily before dashing to the door of her room. "Accerco," he called pointing his wand at her as he simultaneously jumped in her direction. The spell had the desired effect and knocked her off balance , she stumbled for a second and then fell towards the floor where James' strong arms dropped down to catch her. She screeched as she fell and then giggled when he caught her and pulled her close to his own body. He had her back against his chest and as he steadied her back onto her own two feet his deft hands slid up to cup one of her breasts and he whispered in her ear in a commanding voice, "Kiss me!"
He gently swung her around to face him and crushed his lips against hers as she fumbled with the heavy oak bedroom door behind them, they fell through it together as she started to undress James hurriedly almost ripping the shirt from his shoulders and dragging his trousers to the floor. They stumbled across the floor as she did this and when he was fully naked they fell onto the bed together still kissing and wrapping their arms around one another furiously. James rolled the aroused young woman onto her back and pushed her knees apart with his legs, breathing raggedly he kissed her neck, her shoulders and the top of her breasts while reaching around to unhook the delicate lace bra which contained them. She flung it over her head as he took hold of each breast in separate hands, massaging and caressing them and listening to her moans as his thumbs grazed the nipples on the end of them. She wanted him inside of her and she fumbled with her pants, struggling to remove them because of his position, he soon realised this and lifting his body away from hers he moved his fingers to her buttocks and slid them off, pulling them gently down each leg and staring at her with a wildly passionate look on his face. She was incredible, she was feisty and cocky and sensual, she was pretty and sexy and aroused his desire easily. Leaning back over her he stared into her eyes as he took her swiftly and hard, hearing her groan deeply over and over again as he repeatedly pushed himself in and out.
Moments later they lay panting and sated James still looking down on her from between her legs and she with her hands on his back where she had been scratching him with her fingernails as they shared wild, passionate sex. He kept staring into her eyes, something he only realised he had done since his return from the mission, before he had left they would curl up after sex and caress one another but he had never really seen her eyes before. They were deep and soulful, full of compassion and understanding but with a cheeky sparkle which made him want to wallow in them, they were dazzlingly blue and as she gazed back at him with a satisfied expression he found himself whispering, "You have beautiful eyes."
"Thank you," she replied sounding shocked but still looking into his dark brown ones.
"I've never noticed before, I'm sorry," he went on and then he added quietly, "can...can I stay?" surprising himself as much as her with his question.
"You don't need to ask James," she breathed in reply secretly revelling in the fact that he wanted to spend the night again. Since his return from the mission he had been increasingly attentive to her and was now sleeping at her home for the second night in a row, something he had never done before. She had vowed to herself that she would only get her hopes up about their relationship if or when he decided to tell people about them, until then she would take what she could get, but that was going to get harder if her continued to be like this with her. She wasn't in love with him, she wouldn't allow that until he was ready, if he ever was, but she cared deeply for him and knew it was as much more than a friend.
"I don't want to presume anything," he whispered moving his body from above hers and pulling her into the crook of his shoulder, "I care for you deeply and don't want you to be constantly hanging on for a mess like me."
I'll hang on as long as you let me, she thought to herself "You're not a mess," she whispered in reply as she nestled into his shoulder and kissed it softly. "You just need a little understanding," she went on as they settled down into a comfortable conversation again. It had been the one thing that had really surprised her about James that after sex he always wanted to talk to her and listen to her as they gently caressed one another before, usually, he left.
They fell asleep in the same position and when sunlight woke her the next morning as it streamed through the bedroom window she knew it was almost mid-morning. Stretching and rolling over and was surprised to see that James was still in her bed. Her stretch disturbed him and his eyelids fluttered open slowly as he peered from beneath his long crop of raven coloured hair, "Morning sexy," he murmured reaching out to her, "what are we doing awake? It's the weekend," he chuckled closing his eyelids again.
"It's late," she replied enjoying that he was still there but fearing that he would want to be elsewhere, the few occasions on which he had stayed over James had left before sunrise, even when he did not have to be at work, and she was waiting for him to grasp that and get up to leave.
The tentative girl moved to sit on the edge of the bed waiting for his realisation but instead he answered with a stifled yawn "So? Are you trying to get rid of me?"
"No, no of course not," she replied.
"Then get your cute arse back in this bed," he said reaching out and grabbing hold of her thin body which he pulled back towards him forcefully, enfolding her in his arms where he could lay his head on her shoulder. She allowed him to do it and listened as his breathing became deeper soon realising that he had gone back to sleep. Enjoying the feel of his strong body against hers she allowed herself to drift back into a deep slumber from which neither of them woke until noon.
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"Come to the flat tonight," he whispered as he wrapped his cloak around him and prepared to jump into the fire, they had had sex again when they were both fully awake and he had called out her name as they came together making her blush but feel secretly pleased, "I'll cook for you."
"Really?" she blurted before her mind had kicked into gear, he wanted to spend three nights in a row with her and cook as well? Apart from the odd sandwich or quick slice of toast food had never been one of the factors in their equation when they met, sex and talking were usually the only things on the agenda.
"Does that surprise you?" he asked chuckling at her tone of surprise.
"No...well...I..just." she stuttered.
"Let's take this..." he faltered on the word relationship and didn't replace it with another, "...to the next level," he went on, "and include food shall we?" she smiled at him and chuckled as he leaned over to kiss her goodbye and then disappeared back to his empty flat for a while before spending the day with his family.
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The following month was busy for James and though he wasn't sent out on assignment again he was swamped at work and had little time to spend on his secret affair, almost a week had gone by without him seeing her and he knew that he missed her a lot. One Friday night he managed to get away from work around nine o clock and flooed straight to the bar to see his cousins and friends, he found Rose, Dominique and Holly at their usual table with Salamander who he went and sat at the bar with for an hour. Later he cornered the girl in the same place as before and asked her if she cared to call in at the flat when she had finished with her evening. He was tired and wanted to relax at home but was desperate for some company and realised hers was the only company he wanted, she nodded her reply and he left swiftly waiting for her in his bed this time. She arrived soon after saying she had passed off a headache to the companions she had left and they engaged in another steamy sex session before dropping to sleep in their usual curled up position. He had been called into work early the next morning after an official owl had come from the office, there was to be a meeting at nine o clock but Beerney wanted some reports writing up before then so James had to go. "I'll be in touch when I can," he whispered leaving her in his flat and telling her to go when she was ready. It shocked her somewhat that he had left her at his home, alone, was he starting to trust her at last?
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With long, red talonned fingernails she fingered the copy of The Daily Prophet which bore a picture of a striking looking man on the front page, a man whom she was forming a plan about, a plot which would help to put her in his Lordship's high esteem. The plan was simple she was sure, it may not even take long to carry out and soon she might be there, where she wanted to be, on the right hand side of her lord, the most powerful dark Lord alive and the man she wanted to please above all others. Something she intended to do with her scheme to get him the power he really needed to finally succeed with his master plan, the one he had worked towards for over twenty years and the one she would be able to see out with him as his number one. She knew where to find the man in the picture and also knew how to get exactly what she wanted from him, imperious would be no good he would throw that immediately, but she could use her own ways to extract what she needed most from him and then be gone before he even knew what it was. It was perfect and she knew it.
