A/N: Wow, it has been a long time and I am so sorry for that! But it is summer for me now so you can expect frequent updates. I really hope you all like the twists and turns ahead! Enjoy! Xxx
~o0o~
"Can you please just tell me where you are taking her?" Aislinn was besides herself with happy anxiety for her sister at breakfast. The entire Delaney family was up early and Liam had cooked them a hearty breakfast before Lucius and Lacey were taking off to their last destination for her birthday surprise.
"You really do not have to take me anywhere else, this was wonderful. And besides…we only have tonight because I do have to be back for the match…" Lacey was worried about what Lucius had in store, as she had never liked surprises much.
"Come here, Aislinn," Lucius finally caved to the pleas of Lacey's charming younger sister and the red-head shot out of her seat and over to the blonde man, leaning down so he could whisper the secret into her ear. Her face went from a small smile to a larger one and she looked as if she were ready to burst and spill everything.
"Really….this is too much…" Lacey tapped her fork nervously against her plate, but her brother reached his hand out and stopped her.
"I agree, you shouldn't go," Colin nodded, still not warm to Lucius, but Lacey was glad that her brother had at least stopped staring murderously at him.
"It will all be fine, both of you can stop worrying. Lacey, can I borrow you for a moment? Ais and Colin, can you get the dishes?" Liam asked of his children and Lucius went upstairs to grab their packed bags. Lacey looped her arm through her father's and he led her out into the sunny garden, where he turned to her and took her hands in his.
"I want you to do something for me, alright?"
"Yeah, anything Dad," Lacey smiled back at her father, squeezing his hands.
"I want you to follow your heart today, and really truly do what it wants, is that clear?" He was holding back tears, knowing that today it was very possible that his daughter would become engaged.
"Dad, what the bloody hell does that mean?" Lacey laughed a bit, but the serious look on her face made her promise that she would do what he asked, even if she didn't know exactly what he was going on about, "I'll be back to visit you guys soon."
"I know, I am looking forward to it," Liam smiled before pulling his daughter into a long hug.
~o0o~
"Harry, Merlin it is good to see you," Sirius stood up to hug his godson as the messy-haired man walked in to meet him at the farthest back table at the Leaky, but Harry surprised him with a cool handshake and quickly sat down.
"Yeah," was all Harry gave in way of reply and it stung Sirius, but the older man knew it was to be expected. He knew he should have talked to Harry a long while ago, directly after the incident at the Burrow, but he had been too afraid to confront the larger issues at hand.
"Two firewhiskeys, please," Sirius gruffly ordered when the barkeep came round, and then the two men settled back into an awkward silence for a few moments before Harry cleared his throat and attempted conversation.
"So, Remus and Lacey? I had drinks with him and the others and it's a little disturbing that he keeps going for all of my friends…" Harry said, sharpness in his voice.
"I didn't invite you here to talk about them, Harry," Sirius sighed, "Just talk to me…"
That suddenly sent Harry into a verbal fit, "I just can't comprehend what you could possibly want with Ginny. Why can't you find a woman your own age? And why does it have to be her?" Harry tried his best to keep his voice down in the mostly empty pub, especially when they were served their drinks, but his emotion was evident.
"I don't even think of age when I am with her, to be honest. I hate that everyone looks at me like I am some kind of pervert, but I was not the one who initiated the relationship. That was completely Ginny. I would never do anything to hurt her, you have to know that. I can't help who I fall in love with," Sirius replied honestly and Harry just shook his head and laughed as if the whole conversation were a joke.
"I think you can help not falling in love with your godson's ex girlfriend," Harry sniped back.
"I wanted to. I knew you would be angry like this, but I really couldn't help it. I'm happy…and let's be honest here Harry, if you wanted her so much, why did you cheat on her? Repeatedly? You broke her heart!"
Harry looked down at his drink, stunned. No one every delved deeper into his cheating before; everyone chalked it up to 'the Boy Who Lived' sowing his wild oats and doing what he deserved after years of living on the edge of death. It was hard being asked it directly, "I took her for granted. And I wish I never did. I got caught up, Sirius, caught up in everything. You weren't around right after to see it, but there was so much money and everything was so perfect. I was out of my mind drunk half the time and its no excuse."
Sirius contemplated the answer for a moment. It was true, as Hermione had not pulled him from the veil until a year after the ending of the war, and he knew from plenty of stories that it was one big party in the wizarding world at that time, but he still could not comprehend anyone cheating on the gem of a woman that was his Ginny.
"I don't blame you in some senses for enjoying your life like that. If I were your age, I probably would have done the exact same thing. But you should have properly let Ginny go before you did it, and maybe let her experience that world for herself in the same way," Sirius told him.
"I know that now, I just wish I had her back. It's damn hard looking at her happy with you," Harry admitted, looking at his godfather and only feeling jealousy now, and not anger. He knew Sirius' intentions with Ginny weren't stemming from anywhere but a good place, but he still didn't like that he had intentions with her at all.
"We can stay away, if you'd like…if that would make it easier, until she is just a friend to you?"
I don't know, Sirius. I know she hates me for the way I acted and the things I said, especially to you," Harry took a sip of his whiskey and looked Sirius in the eye, "And I am sorry for that. You will never not be family."
"We will figure out a way to get through this, Harry, I promise," Sirius raised his glass and Harry did the same.
~o0o~
"It's…oh…..fucking hell….!"
"Darling, what would you like to do first?" Lucius stood behind Lacey as she whipped wildly around looking at the sights before her when they reached the street from the alleyway their portkey had taken them to.
"You took me to Paris," she turned to him, her voice no longer squealing in delight, but soft, and her eyes were full of tears.
"Yes, I believe I did. Happy early birthday, Lacey," Lucius tilted her chin up with his finger and they kissed passionately on the sidewalk of the small street. To everyone around them, they just looked like two lovers in Paris, and in that moment, that was all they felt like. Lucius forgot everything but how it felt to kiss her and Lacey's worries melted from her body. When she gently pulled away from him but kept close and looked up at him adoringly, Lucius asked her once again what she wanted to do, "The Musée d'Orsay? The Eiffel Tower? Sex with me?"
Lacey pretended to think about it for a moment, "I guess sex with you sounds alright…"
"Just alright?" He teased back, wrapping his arm around her waist as they started walking along the boulevard, with Lucius leading them to their hotel. When they entered the double doors of the quaint, wizarding only hotel, Lucius told Lacey to wait while he checked them in.
"Malfoy," Lucius told the desk attendant, handing the young woman his black bank card.
"The honeymoon suite?" The blonde was bright-eyed at seeing who had booked the best room in the entire hotel, and in her thick French accent, she exclaimed "Congratulations!"
"Not just yet," Lucius smirked, looking over his shoulder at Lacey, who looked like a child in a sweet shoppe as she looked around the lobby, "Tonight. Can you have some champagne delivered to the room when you can?"
"Certainly, Monsieur Malfoy," she smiled and pushed his room key towards him. A moment later, Lucius and Lacey were in the lift alone, snogging like they were never going to get another chance to do so. The honeymoon suite was the only room occupying the top floor of the hotel, and so when they stumbled out of the lift, tangled in each other's arms, they hastily made their way to the door, unlocked it, and proceeded to look for the bed. For the next hour, the champagne Lucius ordered sat outside the door untouched.
~o0o~
"She'll be back, I promise," Ginny consoled Narcissa, who was sitting across the Grimmauld library in Remus' arms.
"I just want this to end and I don't like not knowing where she is during all of this," the blonde murmured. She had spent the night making up with Remus and in the light of the new day, no longer felt she needed to be vindictive towards her soon-to-be-ex husband. She just wished she had felt that way months ago.
"We all want it to end," Sirius sighed, still a bit depressed after his talk with Harry. Thing hadn't exactly resolved themselves, but they were at least on speaking terms now. He wrapped his arms tighter around Ginny and looked across the room at his best friend and cousin. It was still so wild to him that they were in love and sitting in the same room having a conversation with him and the woman he loved.
"Tomorrow after the match Narcissa will serve him the papers and it will be done. I am sure Lucius will understand…" Remus hoped aloud. Ginny fidgeted. She didn't know what would happen if he didn't understand. He had made her an Unbreakable Vow, but if things went poorly, she knew her horrible memories wouldn't be erased as soon as she liked, not to mention her best friends' heart would be broken into a million pieces.
"And if he doesn't?" Ginny voiced her fears.
"Then he doesn't…" Narcissa sighed. Her response made Ginny arch an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?"
"There is a very slim chance he will be rational enough after that to forgive anyone," Narcissa told her, but Ginny wouldn't have it and it suddenly became too much for her to want to deal with.
"Whatever happens tomorrow, you will make him forgive her. He can hate every single one of us, I don't give a damn, but he will not hate Lacey. I love you, Narcissa, but Lacey is my sister and although I really, really don't like him, I saw them together and its real. I won't let it be ruined. She had no idea she was going to fall for him, just like both you and I didn't have a clue we would fall in love with these two…I need her to be happy," Ginny said, her eyes filled with unshed tears, " 'Scuze me…"
"Baby…" Sirius reached out for her but she walked past him out of the library and slammed the door behind her.
~o0o~
"And the view! I mean, I couldn't even believe it. It was surreal…but I'm sure you've been to Paris hundreds of times…" Lacey stopped herself from her ramble on about the day they spent together. After their intimate afternoon, Lucius took Lacey shopping in some very expensive muggle stores, to the Louvre, and to the top of the Eiffel Tower, which she was currently talking about.
"I have property here, so yes, you could say I've been here my fair share. But it's nothing like seeing it through your eyes. It's like seeing it again for the first time," he smiled at her and took a sip of his wine. They were sitting in a very small restaurant with two very expensive meals in front of them, but both of them had hardly eaten a thing. Lucius was completely enchanted by the woman in front of him that he didn't think to eat and Lacey was too busy smiling and recounting everything she saw with awe.
"I love this," Lacey stopped in the middle of what she was saying to reach across the table and take his hand.
"I love you," he smiled at her. She was practically glowing in the candlelight of the restaurant. He desperately wanted to kiss her bare shoulders in the strapless blue dress she had picked out earlier, and her lips, stained dark from the Bordeaux and plump from her biting her lower lip every so often. They were both nervous, but in a good way, that frantic nervousness when the love you feel for someone is so strong and you can't quite fully express it.
"You are an amazing man, and in all honesty, the moment I first met you, I never thought those words would leave my lips," Lacey laughed and Lucius happily drank in the sweetness of that laugh, watching as strands of her chestnut hair fell from her ponytail and grazed her collarbone.
"I don't doubt that. I am definitely much less of an arse now that we are together. And I'm glad about that, Lacey, that we are properly together. Actually…" Lucius felt himself losing his calm and the weight of the small black box in his suit jacket felt suddenly monumental. He almost laughed at how he had not felt this nervous on the night he proposed to Narcissa, and it was probably because it was her duty to say yes. There never was a question, "I have something to ask you."
"What is it? Can it wait ten more minutes? All I really want is to be back in bed again with you. This is all just a dream and I want to make it last with you as long as possible," Lacey told him. In her heart she knew that her moments were numbered and all she wanted was to be in his arms until she absolutely had to leave for the pitch in the morning. The thought almost made her choke up.
"Sure, of course it can wait," Lucius said gently to her and paid for their meals and wine before they ventured outside into the Parisian night and walked slowly back to their hotel, arm in arm.
"Now, wait…I'll be right back…" Lacey smirked when they entered the room, clearly up to something as she grabbed a black bag from amongst the pile of shopping bags in the living area of their suite and headed for the gorgeous bathroom.
"A surprise?" Lucius asked, calling to her through the door as he took off his coat and draped it over the back of a chair by the fireplace. He moved to open the curtains and decided to open the French doors to the balcony as well, letting the crisp air into the room and the sounds of the city below them. She never replied to him, so he busied himself by undoing his cufflinks and decided exactly what to say when he offered her the ring, but just as he remembered the box was still in his coat pocket, Lacey appeared and walked towards the bed.
"How did you sneak this by me?" Lucius tried to carry on the conversation as if he still had some blood left in his brain at the sight of her. She looked so different than she usually did when she wore lingerie, but Lucius thought she had never looked more beautiful. The sheer white babydoll negligee she was wearing skimmed the tops of her hips and was edged in pink lace. The fabric cupped around her full breasts but left her dusky pink nipples completely visible. A matching sheer white thong was pushed low around her hips, either that, or Lucius thought it did not cover much at all and he couldn't stop staring. Her feet were bare and her long hair was loose and flowing over her shoulders.
"When you were so amused with those ties in that one shop I slipped into the lingerie shop next door and grabbed this…" Lacey watched his reaction, which was simply him staring at her, "Do you not like it?"
She knew it wasn't what she usually went for…which was either black or red or nothing at all, but something about that day had felt so romantic and so special. He had this way of making her feel so womanly, when previously she had spent most of her days caked in mud on a Quidditch pitch.
"You….you look stunning," Lucius managed to say, his voice low and almost caught in his throat from being so turned on, "But I have to warn you that this little ensemble is going to be ruined in about a minute…"
"I was hoping that would be the case," Lacey teased, closing the gap between them and starting to kiss his neck as she gently undid the buttons of his dress shirt. He entwined his hands in her hair and pulled her closer to him, feeling her hardened nipples brush against the skin of his chest as she pulled off his shirt. He felt himself being led to the bed and Lacey took the lead by gently pushing him to sit down on the edge and insinuating herself between his thighs.
"You are a goddess," he whispered to her, completely enthralled at the way she twisted her body just slightly and swayed her hips for him. He watched the sexy reveal of her taut stomach when her short negligee rode up her body with his hand as he reached for her breast but she pushed him away with a giggle.
"You insatiable man, what am I every going to do with you?" she asked him as she continued her very slow movements, running her hands up his thighs still covered in his slacks and feeling his bulge snake down the leg of them, "Fuck, you are so hard," she gasped when she finally touched his covered length. He let out an appreciative groan in return.
"I can't help but want you every second of every damn day Lacey, it's quite the problem," he whispered to her, pulling her closer so he could nip on her ear and as she pulled away, he ran both hands over her breasts covered in the thin fabric as she unbuttoned his pants and finally pulled his cock out, leaking pre-cum.
"Yeah, it really is quite a problem," she smiled coyly in reply, licking her lips as she began to stroke him in her soft hand, keeping eye contact with him as she did so. Finally losing his willpower, Lucius tore the babydoll off of her to lick her nipples, which made Lacey moan, the sound he could never get enough of.
She bent her knees to ease herself onto the floor before him and suck him, but Lucius pulled her on the bed, too impatient for anything else. He just needed to be inside of her. Lacey crawled on top of him, sighing happily as she felt his erection urgent against her stomach and kissed him deeply. As they kissed, he gently moved the fabric of her panties to the side and slipped inside of her, causing both of them to moan. She started to rock back against him, desperate for more friction, but he slowed her.
"Darling…" he warned in a low voice. She had already made him cum a few times that day, and he knew he wouldn't last long with her rolling her hips like that, looking sexier than he had ever seen her, with her lips full and pouty and her hair in her face and the little white thong hugging her hips.
"Lucius, I don't care. I need it harder," she begged him, wanting to feel him so deeply inside of her, to lock it away as a memory she would never forget. He kissed between her breasts and ran his hand down her smooth back, cupping her arse before starting to thrust hard. Steadily, he drove her to the peak of her pleasure, both of their pairs of blue eyes never leaving the other. He held her close when they came at exactly the same moment, groaning when he felt her so tight around him and she gasped breathily right into his ear as she came for him. He continued to rock deep inside of her and kiss her, rolling her onto her side so she could relax into the softness of the bed.
"I want you to know that I love you so much Lucius," Lacey whispered in the semi-darkness and caressed his cheek and down his jawline. A smile played on his lips and he kept himself buried inside of her, not wanting to part from her yet.
"I know it. And you know I love you as well," he kissed her forehead, "Now, get some rest, darling, because you've distracted me from asking you that very important question, so you should be prepared for an early morning."
"Alright, anything you say," she sighed sleepily and after a few moments, they both drifted off.
~o0o~
A few hours later, Lacey woke suddenly. The blankets she had pulled up around her were not enough and she realized the culprit of the chill was the wide-open French doors. She smiled at Lucius, who was very much still asleep and carefully crawled out of the bed in order to not wake him. She hurriedly closed the doors to the balcony and decided to put on some actual pyjamas just in case she got cold again. In the darkness of the room, she was having a hard time finding her overnight bag and couldn't locate her wand to light the way, so she just reached for Lucius' shirt hanging off the back of one of the chairs by the fireplace. When she pulled at it, it caused his coat to fall on the floor and it made a distinct 'thud'. After she buttoned up his white shirt, Lacey dug around in the pockets and found what had made the noise- a little box.
Without really thinking, or rather, thinking too much about how she had drunken too much wine, Lacey headed into the ensuite and turned on the light. After she had taken care of her bladder, she took a closer look at the little box she had taken with her and opened it without really thinking, still in a sleepy stupor.
"No…no, no, no, no…" she began to cry and slumped to the floor, leaning against the cabinetry of the sink. Inside of the box was a beautiful, simple, and sparkling engagement ring. Lacey had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. That ring and what it meant was everything she wanted from Lucius Malfoy. She had been too daft to realize that was the question, and now what her father said to her that morning made sense. He must have asked for her father's permission.
That alone made the tears stream, heavy and warm, down her cheeks as she silently cried. He loved her enough to want to marry her, and tomorrow, or very soon after, he would hate her and want to take it all back. Lacey knew it was probably a blessing in disguise that her bizarre midnight awakening had led her to the ring so she didn't let it get any farther, but it hurt her so incredibly deeply.
She didn't think it was possible to be so happy and so miserable at the exact same time.
Lacey slipped the ring out and placed it on the appropriate finger, in awe of it, and in awe of the man who was going to give it to her. She let herself cry as quietly as she could manage and finally pulled herself together enough to think up a plan.
She knew he would ask her in the morning. It was all so clear….this is what this romantic little vacation was all for. So, she knew she had to leave. She snuck out of the bathroom, finally found her wand, and managed to put a spell on Lucius to keep him drowsy if he did wake up. She quietly dressed, grabbed her things, slipped the ring box back into his coat pocket exactly where it had been, and wrote him a note.
Emergency with Ginny, had to leave. So sorry.
See you tomorrow at the match.
All my love,
Lacey xx
She left the note on her empty pillow and kissed her lovers' forehead.
"I'm sorry Dad, I really wish I could follow my heart on this one, but I just can't," Lacey sighed to herself and closed the door behind her.
A/N: Reviews encouraged, especially after that doozy!
