Chapter 46

Hermione stared at Draco's waiting hand. She knew that if she took it, it was all on again, her future with the Slytherins, his mother, Pansy and all the crap that went along with the magical world. But then there was him. She loved him, every part of him, even the stubborn, the arrogant and immature parts of him. She also adored the parts of him that was decisive, that were completely cool under pressure and that knew his worth. She especially loved that he really, really wanted her and there were no provisos or doubt. He knew exactly what he wanted. he was open with his affection, not like Ron who liked to keep her guessing, giving and withdrawing his affections as he wanted to, as a means of controlling her. Not that she fell for it, she had seen through that game fairly quickly.

Draco was not perfect, far from it, but he was honest about his strengths and his weaknesses. Perhaps it was a quality she needed to cultivate more of in herself. If she was honest with herself, she would have to admit that she'd been afraid and she had been so from the moment he had set his sights on her. It had kept her from giving fully throughout their relationship. She always held something back, actually the part that of her that could be truly hurt if things fell apart. And they had fallen apart because of it.

If she took his hand now, she had to be in all the way, complete and vulnerable. It was an issue of trust. She would have to trust him in every way and then live with the consequences. She would have to live with his friends and family, but that was a peripheral issue. Although Blaise and Pansy deserved a bitch slap or two. Maybe even Blaise more than Pansy, because Pansy was protecting her friend even though she did it in an extremely bitchy and unpleasant way. Blaise was just a crappy friend.

When it came down to it, she couldn't see herself with anyone else. He drove her crazy, he pushed her every button and he melted her when he looked at her the way he did. Anyone else would just be a cheap version of him. It would feel like a cop out and she would live with that the rest of her life. She wouldn't be with him because she was too scared. That was not what she was about, she wasn't a coward.

She sighed heavily, it was time to leap. She would either be the girl who lept or the one who refused to.

She took his hand and his smirk spread across his mouth, the smirk she knew so well, the one he did whenever he got what he wanted.

"Don't look so pleased with yourself," she said warningly.

"And why not, I am pleased with myself."

"Oh really?"

"You know I can talk you into just about anything."

She hit him on the chest for being so completely … Slytherin.

"You are an arrogant pig," she said, but he didn't allow her to go on as he pulled her into a kiss. Hermione sighed into it, letting it take her thoughts and suffuse her body with a warm glow. It felt so very right, like this was where she belonged. He kissed her slowly, apparently in no rush at all, exploring her mouth. His lips left hers and travelled down her neck, sending sensations throughout her body. "It is going to be a constant battle for me, keeping your ego in check," she breathed out.

"Mmm," he said and moved lower while lifting her up, urging her legs around him. He wasn't paying attention any more. She was having trouble keeping her thoughts straight as his warm lips teased her skin. Her body seemed to strive for more. She had so much tension in her body, tension from weeks of stress and unhappiness. It just felt so good to have his arms around her again.

She bent her head down and kissed his hair as his attentions were lower down, teasing her skin into a desperate state of need. She locked her ankles around his back, urging their bodies closer, while he slowly sank them down to the forest floor. It was soft enough, and beyond that she didn't care. The forest was silent and the only noise she could hear was their own. The silence around them seemed to amplify every small moan she made, every kiss and sigh.

He came down on top of her and she ran her hand down his chest over the expensive cloth of his shirt, feeling the heat of his body underneath. His hand was on her backside, pressing them closer. She knew he was glad to see her, she could feel it. She wanted his lips again, she needed the intimacy of their kisses. She wanted to feel his tongue with hers, feel his desperate need for her, which was the biggest aphrodisiac she had ever come across.

She ran her finger down his shirt, popping each of the small buttons as she went, then sneaking her hand inside, feeling the muscles of his shoulder as she pushed the material back. He rolled his shoulder to help her then pulled the edges of her shirt apart with much less patience. She knew her shirt would be ruined and she didn't care. Although it would likely serve him as an excuse to get her new clothes.

Her skirt was bunched up around her waist as she rolled her hips to tease him and appease her own need for friction. She wasn't sure what she was thinking, how could she possibly have lived without this? There was only one person she wanted this badly and he was here kneading her body to his in equal force.

She pushed him back and busied her hands undoing his zipper, she didn't want to wait anymore. He like to tease until her frustration boiled over sometimes, but she didn't want to be teased tonight, she wanted him inside her. Once he was free, she reached up and kissed him again, waiting for the surge. He entered her in one fluid motion and she gasped as a maelstrom of sensation assaulted her. Hermione could do nothing but hold on tight and face the onslaught of it as he withdrew and pushed in again.

"Let's not ever stop being this," she panted as her voice would let her.

"Deal," he said and pushed into her again, harder. In was almost painful as the exquisite sensation intensified. She needed his lips again. She wanted him there with her as she went over the edge. Her body arched into her relief and her loud groan reverberated around the trees. She felt her own emotions well up as her body contracted over and over again. She felt his release and it added to her own.

"I love you," she panted. She hadn't really said it before, not really, and she meant it with all of her and not a single bit holding back.

"I love you too," he said as his whole weight came down on her. "And I am going to do that to you every night. Actually, I am going to do that again to you later tonight. You have so cruelly denied me, I have time to make up for."

He sat back and did up his pants. He looked back at her and just stayed there, letting his eyes slowly wander over every part of her. She felt no embarrassment, she felt beautiful as he watched her. Then he smacked her on the thigh. "Now get up, we have a wedding to plan."

Hermione groaned.

"I am sure mother wants to drag in the dress maker at the earliest opportunity. And you," he said pointing at her, "are not going to get cold feet again."

"I am not wearing your mother's crusty old dress," she said with finality. "I have my own mother to contend with. If I am going to wear anyone's dress, it will be her's." She lied through her teeth, her mother didn't have a wedding dress, it had been ruined on the night of her wedding by an excess of sparking pina coladas and these surprisingly flammable table decorations.

Draco shrugged and Hermione felt bad for lying to him. She didn't want to lie to him, she didn't want that to have that kind of relationship.

"At least that is what I am going to tell your mother," she said tentatively. He looked at her then leaned down and kissed her.

"I am such a bad influence on you. You're turning into a true Slytherin. I'm so proud of you. Now get up, we have lots to do. I have to buy a house. Although we have this medieval castle in Scotland that could be our new pad."

"Not really my style," she said as he pulled her up by the hand. "A nice townhouse in London, I think."

"Oh come on, its got a moat."

"Townhouse. London," she repeated.

"If you must insist on the boring option."

"I think I must or we can stay at my flat."

"Townhouse then," he said. She dreaded to think how he would interpret that.