Author's Note: Meh, normal apologies, haven't updated in a while (for me). I'm still having trouble writing, but I think I'm doing a little better than I was a few weeks ago, which is a good sign.

Chapter 79

He pushes two fingers into me, and I open my legs just a bit wider, stifling a cry. It feels so good.

But it seems as though my body is insatiable—he pumps his fingers into me a few times, but the sensation grows less satisfying, and then I'm bucking my hips, trying to increase the friction between his fingers and my quivering insides.

Sensing my frustration, he slides a third finger into me.

I gasp, adjusting to this new width. He slows the motion of his fingers, and the novelty quickly wears off, leaving me wanting more. I grind against his hand, wondering if it's possible to just come like this, but his fingers are refusing to cooperate with me. I glance at his face and see that his brow is furrowed—he seems very focused on the task at hand.

The tips of his fingers graze some sensitive spot inside me, and I let out a loud moan. Oh, god.

I grip his shoulders tightly, anchoring myself to him as I press against his hand, silently begging for him to touch that spot again.

But he's avoiding it. I can't tell whether or not he's avoiding it intentionally, but I need that feeling.

His fingers press against that spot again, and a wonderful heat courses through my body. Then he starts to avoid it again, and I groan in frustration.

When he repeats the process yet again, a stream of words flies out of my mouth, punctuated with gasped expletives. I'm hardly aware of what I'm saying—all I want is for him to fill me up.

He withdraws his fingers, and for a split second, I wonder if my begging has pissed him off and driven him away. Then he's shoving his erect member into me, and though my mouth falls open, no sound comes out.

Ow. Oh fuck, that really hurts.

I take deep breaths and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to focus on anything but the pain.

But somehow, there's still a big part of me that wants more. What's wrong with me? This hurts, but I… I want him to move.

I feel his lips on my forehead, and then my nose. Then his lips brush against mine, sending chills through me.

"If you want me to stop, say so," he murmurs.

No, don't stop.

I seem to have lost control over my voice, so I just kiss his lips softly. His lower body shifts, pushing a little bit farther inside me, and with the new bit of pain comes a strong wave of pleasure.

Ohh…

I slowly open my eyes and see that he's staring down at me, completely motionless. I'm mesmerized by his dark grey eyes, and the pain seems to fade away, replaced by the same desire that I'd felt earlier.

"Move," I say, craving that unique sensation.

He retreats from my body slightly, and I'm about to protest when his hips swing forward again, pushing in a bit farther. I moan in response, sliding my hands up to his head so that I can pull him down for a kiss. He seems to understand from the frantic movement of my lips that I need more of him, so he pulls back and thrusts into me again, drawing long moan from me.

He plunges into me repeatedly, and each thrust seems to increase the tension more than the last. I arch my back, and the new angle lets him get even deeper inside me, hitting nerves that I hadn't even known existed. I kiss him deeply, and he increases the pace of his thrusts.

I let my head fall back against the bed and beg him to give me more—I'm so close. So, so close.

He reaches down between us to play with my bundle of nerves again, and I feel that I'm right on the edge of the cliff, an inch from tumbling over. I cry his name between more expletives and pleas.

Then he groans, and I feel a burst of heat inside me—did he just…

But before I have time to finish my thought, I'm shooting off into the darkness. The rush is invigorating, beautiful, incomparable.

When I finally come back down to Earth, I feel Draco's body pressed against mine.

So close to me. I rub his back gently, catching my breath.

He starts to lift himself up, but I tighten my hold on him. I don't want him to be away from me. He's mine now, and he's not going anywhere.

Merlin, when did I become so possessive?

"Don't move," I tell him.

Oh, my voice…

"Lost your voice, there?" he taunts.

I crack an eye open and see an amused expression on his face. "Maybe a little," I reply.

He leaves a trail of soft kisses from the corner of my mouth to my ear, and I allow myself a satisfied sigh. Then he lifts himself up onto his elbows, and I smile at him.

So, so beautiful…

He kisses my lips, and I marvel at just how gentle his actions are. How can a man be so good to a woman? I smile sleepily.

"Thank you, Draco," I whisper.

Instead of replying, he only kisses me again.

I don't mind. I don't think I'll ever have enough kisses from this man.

Then he shifts away from me, and I feel a huge sense of loss. I immediately turn to face him and shift into his arms, ensuring that he won't leave me. If I wake up in the morning and find that he's gone, I will be very displeased.

A blanket covers us, and I smile against his chest.

Good night, Draco.

I wake up with my head resting on the pillow, my forehead pressed into his neck. I kiss his chest, next to his scar. Then I lift a hand to touch it again. I wonder what spell Blaise used on him to cut so deeply…

I gently roll Draco onto his back and prop myself up on one elbow to look at his face. He looks so relaxed and unguarded in this moment, and I'm suddenly reminded of his face back when he was eleven or twelve years old—he'd been so confident and untroubled by anything around him. I'd secretly envied him for that because I was never so sure of myself. Now, I wish he could look so relaxed all the time.

I remember the look on his face after I'd explained my feelings for Ron. God, that was awful.

I lean down and kiss his lips. He lets out a low, sleepy groan and slowly moves his lips in response. I wonder if he's waking up yet.

Then I reach down, trailing my hand along the length of his body. I wrap my hand around his already hardening member. This gets a louder groan from him, and his hips jerk upward slightly. I smile against his lips and throw a leg over him, straddling his hips. I wince at the soreness between my legs, but I don't want to stop here.

I wonder how far I can go before he wakes up.

A few more light tugs, and he's fully erect. I stare at his thick cock—I didn't really get a good look at it last night. I wet my fingers with the bit of liquid oozing from the top and lift my index finger to my lips to sample it.

Then I wrap my hand around him again. I can't believe something this big was inside me last night.

I scoot forward and line him up with my entrance.

"Having fun?"

My eyes flit upward to meet his. His voice was deceptively amused—his eyes are dark, heavily dilated.

I hold his gaze as I slowly lower my body, impaling myself on him, inch by delicious inch. His breathing quickens, and he drops his head back to the pillow, muttering a string of curses.

It hurts to be stretched out so much, but it's a pain that's somehow so addicting and pleasurable. I had never understood what Fay or Lavender had meant when they were talking about sex, and neither had Parvati—she'd been a virgin like me. Although I still don't quite understand why it's so pleasurable to be split in half, I certainly don't want to give up the feeling.

When he's fully inside me, I wriggle my hips and enjoy the tingling sensations that shoot up my spine.

Then he flips me onto my back, and I squeal, surprised.

He rocks his hips against mine, and his features quickly become strained.

Oh, oh, ohhh, oh God…

He grips my hips and adjusts the angle so that he rubs my clit with each hard thrust. My moans seem to get progressively louder, and I wonder if all the noise bothers him at all.

Then my body seizes up, and I clamp down hard around him, reveling in the tumultuous waves of bliss that travel over me. He explodes inside me, filling me up, and I feel as though I'm a puddle of jelly.

He braces his weight above me and lowers his head to kiss me.

"That was the best wake-up call I've ever gotten," he says in a low voice.

I smile and kiss him back. "You're welcome," I reply.

"It's really quiet."

"I don't know if that's a good sign or a bad one."

The muffled voices are coming from the living room, and I lift my head to look at the door. "Blaise and Harry are back," I observe.

Beneath me, Draco yawns and waves a hand at the door, casting a Muffling Charm. Then he says, "It's got to be past noon already—about time we got out of bed."

"Stay here," I tell him. "I want to talk to them alone."

He kisses me before removing his arms from around me. "Sure."

I start to get off him and pause, suddenly feeling very shy. His face seems to hold no emotion, but then I notice the way that his eyes are sparkling and realize that he's happy.

"What are you looking at?" he asks.

I smile. "I'm learning how to read you."

He grins. "Go get dressed and talk to your friends. I always knew you'd put them before me," he says, mock-pouting.

I can't help but laugh at that. "You're adorable."

"That's not good," he says, frowning. "I'm supposed to be arrogant and unlikeable."

I lean down to kiss him again before sitting up, drawing the blankets up around me to cover myself up. I know that he must have seen me last night—all of me—but I can't help feeling shy about my body. He doesn't comment, and when I look up at his face, I see that he's smiling.

But the sparkle in his eyes has gone.

"Draco, are you all right?" I ask him.

His smile becomes infinitely more convincing, and if I hadn't already noticed the difference in his eyes, I would have no doubts about his emotions.

"Of course I am," he says lightly. "Go on."

I bite my lip. Should I tell him that I see right through him? I slip off the bed and gather my clothing. When I look in his direction, I see that he's closed his eyes. As I get dressed, I continue to watch him, wondering if he'll peek. But he doesn't.

When I'm fully dressed, I sit back down on the bed. "Draco…"

He opens his eyes to look at me, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Yes?"

"I don't know what's happened to you, but we have to talk about it," I say softly. "I definitely need to talk to Harry and Blaise right now, but when I'm through with them, you and I should sit down for a talk."

"Whatever you want," he replies readily—maybe a little too readily.

"You aren't planning on leaving, are you?" I ask, suddenly worried.

He shakes his head. "No. I'm not going anywhere."

I lean down and kiss him again. I can't seem to get enough of these soft, soft lips. "You'd better not be lying. If you leave without saying goodbye, like last time, I'll be very upset."

"I won't," he replies. "I have nowhere left to go."

I realize belatedly that he's lost his family and that Malfoys are well-known for valuing family over… pretty much all else. I pull up on his shoulders, and he sits up. I wrap my arms around him tightly.

"Are you all right?" he asks me.

"I'm sorry about your family," I say softly.

"Oh, that. Don't worry about it," he replies.

I release him and back up to look at his face. He looks completely sincere, but now I can't tell whether or not it's a front. I need to talk to Blaise about Draco—if anyone understands him, it's Blaise.

"I'll be right back, then," I say.

He nods. "Bye, Hermione."

I smile, but it feels forced. Before he can comment, I get up and exit the room.