Chapter 14:

It was well past midnight when they flooed out of the Wood Manor to Wood Park, Oliver's estate a little beyond the Wood Manor. Oliver held out his hands to steady her when she stepped out of the fireplace just behind him. Holding her at her waist, he looked intently at her. She looked like a big ball of nerves, stretched to their limits, eyes almost green. Before he could speak or move, "Tea," she squeaked.

"I need tea. Do you need tea? I'm gonna go make some tea. Shall I make some for you too? I'll make some tea for you too. We'll drink tea," she ranted on and almost ran to the open kitchen she could see from where she was standing.

Oliver furrowed his brows and watched her dash, following close behind. She got busy in the kitchen trying to place the necessary ingredients the muggle way, by opening and shutting all the cabinets instead of summoning the tea bags and sugar. He moved to the breakfast bar beside the kitchen counter, shrugging out of his jacket, waist coat and tie and hanging them on his chair before sitting down. He slipped open the top two buttons of his shirt and then worked on the ones at the cuff, folding the sleeves to just below the elbow, all the while watching her mad rush all around the spacious kitchen. Delaying tactics he smiled. She is nervous. He openly stared at her while she assembled all the ingredients around the counter and started to make the tea. She looked beautiful in her wedding gown and he was itching to get rid of it. He waved his wand her way and her hair came cascading down from its tight confinements above her nape.

She shivered as she looked at him. He shrugged, "I like it better this way." She blushed and looked down at the pot, willing it take its time. It came to a boil immediately. Just my luck she scowled and began to assemble the tea. She held both the cups in her hands and walked towards the table setting one down in front of him. She did not get any sugar or milk along and he wasn't going to give her a reason to move away from him again, so he just sipped the horribly rancid looking tea and tried not to wince at the taste. The woman cooks as well as she flies he laughed in his head.

For her part, she did not really register its taste and chugged the whole cup down almost in three gulps. "I'll quickly wash up," she jumped up saying and took his still half full cup along with hers. Not that he was complaining about having to give up that tea!

Something needed to give, he figured and called out to her, "Hermione.. is everything…" she froze at the husky sound of his voice and felt the cups drop from her hands. Within the blink of an eye he was by her side, catching the cups before they hit the floor. He straightened up in front of her, towering a good foot over her head, she felt as if she was living in a daze, actually seeing him for the first time after they had come here.

"Hermione.." he tried again. That shook her out and she snatched the cups from his hands and proceeded towards the sink. He stood just where he was for a moment or two, weighing his next move. She refused to speak to him, so I don't have too many options now do I? he reasoned in his mind.

Decision made, he moved to stand behind her, locking her between himself and the sink by placing his arms on both her sides, rubbing them up and down near her waist. He slowly moved her curly mane to one side, nuzzling the crook behind her ears, "You make such an incredibly beautiful bride Hermione, I swear you knocked my breath off when you walked down the aisle towards me earlier tonight," he continued to pepper her ear, neck and collar with kisses. She moaned, eyes shut, his light touch burning her skin somehow. Just nerves then he thought, happy to know she liked his touches. He planned on doing a lot of just that all through his life. He smiled at that thought and moved in to nibble at her jaw, while he unzipped her dress from behind, silently thanking her foresight in getting a dress with a zipper instead of one with way too many tiny buttons, he probably would not have survived that torture tonight. He moved his head back, nuzzling her back as it was bared to him, inch by delicious inch even as he increased the pressure on her hands to hold them in place when he felt them moving to try to hold her falling dress.

"There's no need to hide yourself lass," he whispered, his tone sending shivers down her spine. He bent and picked her up in his arms and carried her to their bedroom, both forgetting her wedding dress on the kitchen floor.

He maneuvered the door open to their bedroom and kicked it shut behind them, carried her straight to bed, placing her at its center and moving back to see her. She sat there bashfully, too scared to move. She's thinking too much he realized and then gave his all to ensure that thoughts were the last thing on her mind for the night. "Let all else go lass. Be in this moment with me, as we come together as one," he whispered to her huskily as he touched her, kissed her, teased her, nibbled her, nipped her on every part of her body as he slowly got rid of their remaining clothes. When she was finally sprawled naked in front of him, he sat back and eyed his fill, chest heaving with a long breath. "You're beautiful," he whispered and bent down on her with a new vigor, an increased pace. Kissing his way down her body from her lips to her hips, he dipped his tongue in her navel and then nibbled at it, eliciting a loud moan from her that went straight to his erection, springing it harder. He looked into her eyes, gone dark, almost black with arousal, probably just like mine, he thought and bent to kiss the curls darkening her center and at the same time inserting two of his fingers deep inside her, eliciting a loud moan yet again.

"Oh sweet Merlin! You're so tight! How long has it been lass?" Oliver groaned, working with his two fingers in her, barely managing to push them in her tight folds, yet coaxing her release, feeling her walls tighten all the more around him, pulling him in, knowing it was here.

"Oliver…." Hermione gasped, unable to form any other word apart from his name.

He gave his crinkled smile at that. "We'll change that now, shall we?" he asked, positioning himself between the v of her legs, slowly, deliberately touching her entrance with his erection. She groaned. He chuckled and entered her in one swift motion, locking her hands on either sides of her head with his own.

Hermione bit in his shoulder and gave a muffled cry of pain. Through sheer instinct Oliver held himself in check, too lost in the moment to understand what was happening, then slowly he eased himself in and out of her, softly, rhythmically and then he increased the pace and had them both moaning and panting in no time. She came down once more from her high and few strokes after that he came undone in her and went slack on her chest. "You're perfect," he whispered, shutting his eyes.

"So are you," Hermione replied, hugging him close.

!

He woke up on a cold bed to the sound of the shower running. Oh bother! Whom did I do now? was his first thought, but slowly the events of the previous day came rushing back to him. His wedding. Hermione. Her smiling shyly at him. The kisses in the kitchen. Their night of passion. And suddenly he froze as a particular memory hit his head. He sat upright and pulled the duvet down. And there on the sheets lay the big blotch of proof. Proof of her chastity. Proof of his idiocy. Shit! He felt like a heel as he covered that taunting red blotch on the pristine white sheets with the duvet again. He had wanted her, he had ravished her, without any consideration for her needs. He had assumed she didn't have time to sleep around due to the war not long back and her current busy schedule. But he'd forgotten she had been fighting the war long before most. She'd never had time for any of it. And at the end, even he, the man sworn to love and cherish her, had hurried her. He felt the weight of his guilt on his shoulders and hung his head low in his hands, as if waiting for the sentence of his death penalty.

But why hadn't she told me? She, who had dated Victor Krum, she who had been in hiding for a year with two boys and yet she hadn't bothered with telling him that she was a virgin before their wedding night. How could he ever have guessed? And then he thought back to all the interactions between the golden trio, they were close, very close but there was never any sexual tension between them, it was just plain old love and friendship. He remembered her saying that she was 15 to Krum's 18 when they had dated, so probably she had held back. He gave a mirthless smile at that…Probably? HA! But for whatever reason, she had held back with them all and yet lit like a firecracker in his arms, under his ministrations. He was just about to smile proudly at that when he remembered all his actions again and his pride and happiness deflated once more.

But why hadn't she said anything? That was the question burning in his mind when Hermione came out of the bath, wrapped snugly in his bath robe that absolutely drowned her, steam following her out, lending a strawberry essence to the air in the bedroom.

She smiled blushingly on seeing him awake. "Good morning Oliver."

He sat at the edge of the bed, a part of the duvet barely covering his modesty and leaving everything below his mid-thigh and above his waist open for Hermione's perusal, while he just sat and stared at her. How could she be so damn calm about the whole fiasco? Her serenity irritated him and he lashed out at her. "Why didn't you tell me Hermione?"

She looked at him blankly, willing her eyes to move away from the springy hair on his long legs to his eyes, now shining with hurt and guilt. "Why didn't you tell me you were a virgin Hermione?"

She flushed at that. "I….. didn't…."

"Don't bother lying," he said and pulled the other side of the duvet down again. She paled at the proof.

"Well… I… I didn't think it was that important. It's not particularly contagious you know."

He winced at her try at humor, all his anger abating, only to be replaced by more guilt. She should be the one lashing out at him, not the other way around, he chided himself darkly, a dark frown marring his perfect features. Hermione saw the change in his demeanor and went to sit beside him.

"What's the matter Oliver?" she asked sweetly, cupping his face in her both hands.

"Hermione I must have hurt you real bad last night. If only you had told me, there are things I could've done to prolong your pleasure and lessen your pain. I feel like shit for being so consumed in my passion that I couldn't even place the reason for your obvious discomfort at the intrusion."

"Oliver," she whispered but he couldn't look at her any more. "Oliver…. Please look at me love…" He looked up at that, the desperate plea in her voice making him look at her. "Oliver, I really did enjoy myself last night. It was beautiful. And if it concerns you so much, we can always do those special things next time," she said, mischief mingled with coyness turning her eyes into deep pools of molten caramel dusted with a pinch of dark chocolate at the edges.

He sucked in a harsh breath at that. "Will you forgive me Hermione? For being such a jerk on our first night? I swear I'll make it up to you every single day for the rest of my life…."

She smiled at that. "You don't have to do anything like that. I honestly did enjoy myself last night and I wouldn't change a thing about it, even if I could. It was perfect. At least for me." She smiled at him again, willing him to smile back. He did, though a little remorse still lingered in his eyes.

"Did it hurt too bad? Did I make you…?"

She just placed a finger on his lips. "No. Not any more than it would have any way. With time…. and practice…." she blushed, looking away a little, "I'll get better. Don't worry."

He smiled a small smile then. "With practice huh?" he asked, desire changing his eyes to dark chocolate. "Shall we have a session now then?" he asked and bent in to capture her mouth. But he came back up within two seconds, "You'd tell me right? If I hurt you, you'd let me know immediately?" She nodded, smiling. He smiled back and started the kisses again.

He took utmost care with her and did all the things he should have done the previous night. He treated her as if she was made of porcelain, she liked it but she wanted her uninhibited Oliver, not this careful one. "You're holding back Oliver, I can feel it. Lay it on me. I can take it, I promise," she whispered.

He groaned but held himself in check. "Indulge me this time, lass. Next time onwards I'll follow your instructions," he offered, continuing his attentions. She smiled and moaned and soon they were both lost to the world.