A/N - Enjoy this lil sprinkling, the lil nibble of spice included in this chapter lol

As You Wish - Chapter 20

Crystal, darling,

My birthday's coming up in the next few weeks and I am simply dying to have a girls' trip with you. I don't like that my sister's pre-occupying your time now, so we need to have our own little excursion together.

I know you could probably plan a brilliant party for me, but I've gotten rather bored with some of the local scene and could use a bit of sun.

Don't worry about where we're going or where we're staying. Just pack something appropriate for the beach.

Owl me back soon and I'll provide you with more details on the date.

Kisses,

Astoria

Ginny had gotten the letter while Draco was away having his Very Important Meeting.

She was a nervous wreck after making him breakfast and dashed back up to her room until she knew he was out of the house.

The genie chewed on her bottom lip, now nervous to talk to him about Astoria's letter. If she was being honest with herself, the idea did sound nice. She knew that wherever Astoria took them was going to be beautiful and she would barely have to lift a finger if she needed something. Plus, as much as she was enjoying the little set up she currently had, she was itching for a change of scenery for a little bit. Her concern, though, was Draco worrying about her being by herself with his girlfriend's sister.

Ginny had told Narcissa that she found the youngest Greengrass to be on the simple side and, for the most part, Astoria could be. But she realized that she didn't mind the other woman's company that much. Their shopping excursion was more fun than Ginny wanted to admit and Astoria was a completely different person without her sister inadvertently egging her on. The brunette ended up finding that her tastes in clothing and accessories were similar to the genie's and, if they hadn't run into Harry, they probably would've continued on through dinner. As long as Daphne wasn't to be around during their trip, she might actually have a good time.

Ginny got out of her bed to head down to the living room, determined to convince Draco that, yes, she could be a very good girl while on vacation. She knew she could control her Glamoured state while she slept, so there was no reason for him to worry about Astoria accidentally seeing Ginny and not Crystal. She also knew that she needed to control her alcohol intake around the youngest Greengrass to prevent herself from accidentally letting something slip. Her master really had nothing to worry about.

As she plopped down onto her normal space on the couch, the genie's thoughts drifted back to her master and what transpired last night, hoping it could help distract her from his Very Important Meeting.

Yet again, Ginny knew that something had changed between them and it weirdly gave her hope. More and more, she found herself wondering if these subtle actions were his way of showing her how he felt.

With that curiosity in mind, she had let her selfish thoughts regarding his last wish be the thing that helped her fall asleep last night. In the morning, she kept remembering the little moments they shared while sitting on his bed. How he had held her as she cried, not caring that she was making a mess of his work clothes. How she still wished she had taken the plunge and kissed him after the first time he ran his thumb against her cheek. How he held her face in his hand and it felt perfect. How she had wrapped her arms around him in comfort and thought she couldn't let go. He smelled so different from the teddy bear she had hidden away in her room. He had a bit of that freshness that his bear had, but there was a sweetness there she wasn't expecting. Almost like a mix of chamomile and honeysuckle. She imagined that falling asleep next to him would be like sleeping in a field, with wild flowers dotted all around them.

She then vaguely remembered Narcissa mentioning during one of Ginny's gardening visits that she would send her son enough chocolate to feed a small army while he was at school. Maybe that was why he kind of smelled like something she desperately wanted to eat. Like he was a chocolate truffle filled with caramel. The genie wanted to laugh at the sudden thought she had.

She was still rather fascinated by her attraction to Draco. She giggled as she thought back to her reaction when he became her newest master. They were both so desperate to end the magical contract that had been foisted upon them, but here they were; now at a level of familiarity where comforting hugs and lying down next to each other didn't seem so strange. Yet Ginny found herself wanting more.

Maybe it was because she was more of an adult now than she was when she was with Harry, but the physical pull she felt towards Draco was becoming torturous. She sighed in frustration, rubbing her temples, as she realized that she was using her hands and her vibrator more often these past few months than she had previously. And while her fantasies were helping to get the job done, she knew that it would be different if he wanted to actually do all the things her fantasy version of Draco was very adept at.

Fuck.

She couldn't even try to parse out what was purely physical and what might be what she really wanted without falling into an abyss.

Ginny felt the apples of her cheeks getting warm. Suddenly the room felt way too hot, even though she knew his home was always kept at a sensible temperature for the season. She grabbed her chest over her sweater, trying to stop her nipples from getting any harder than they already were.

She laid down on his sofa, knowing that the throbbing in her knickers would surely give way to wetness, and she petulantly kicked her feet against the side he usually sat on. She was an adult, dammit! She could control herself! She had to control herself while being in a common area in his home.

But then she thought about her newest fantasy of them in his shower. She snaked a hand under her sweater, lightly rolling one of her nipples in between her fingers. She imagined him doing the same; the light strokes sending shivers up her arms and down her spine. His other hand rested on her stomach, right above her patch of curls. He finally lowered it, letting it move up and down her slick folds before gently pressing a finger inside her. She gasped as she realized that her free hand had also lowered itself beneath the the waistband of her knickers, allowing one of her fingers to feel how ridiculously wet the thought of him had made her.

God, she wanted to fuck him.

Her and her fantasy placed a second finger inside; gasping again as they pressed as deep as they could go. She imagined him languidly taking his fingers out, before using one of them to make slow circles around her increasingly sensitive bundle of nerves. Fantasy Draco pressed his body against her to keep her steady and she bit down on her lip once she could feel how hard he was.

She started speeding up once fantasy her was bent over, hands pressed against a wall for support. The water was still on in his shower, but he positioned her so his back was receiving a majority of the warmth curling around them. He gripped onto her hips as he slowly inserted himself inside. She whimpered at the thought of her fitting around him so perfectly like a fucking glove. He was still for a moment; enjoying how the sudden fullness made her inadvertently clench him, almost pulling him deeper, before he began moving back and forth against her. His motions were slow and gentle at first, and she could feel her hips instinctually move along with him. As he became harder, his pace quickened and his thrusts were more forceful, but she didn't care.

The very real Ginny came as fantasy Draco did; taking her hand off of her breast to stifle the moan trying to escape her mouth.

She laid there, trying to slow down her breathing. She felt her thighs twitch as she pulled her finger away.

Oddly enough, this particular orgasm gave her a better sense of clarity on the situation than any of her previous other ones had. It swept away just enough of her tension to quell the incessant need she had, allowing her to remember the fact that she was legitimately trying to determine if his actions last night held a much deeper meaning than what she initially thought.

Because that orgasm had her absolutely convinced that Draco Malfoy didn't show that level of empathy and comfort to just any 'ol witch he might've encountered in life.

Ginny scrambled out of her malaise at the sound of the front door turning. She did a quick knickers swap and ran a hand in front of her face and hair to refresh them.

As Draco stepped inside, announcing that he decided to come home early, she did another wave to produce a mug of coffee, while her free hand picked up Astoria's letter; pretending to be reading it for the first time.

He knew he wanted to see her immediately, but he also wanted to fulfill his wish of lounging about with her for the rest of the day.

"I'll be back down in a moment," he called out as he made his way upstairs.

Once inside his bedroom, he quickly changed into, surprisingly, a sweatsuit of his own. A bit more fitted than what Ginny normally wore, but still similar enough to nearly match her.

When he came back downstairs, he noticed she was alternating between sipping her coffee and intensely studying a piece of parchment in her hand.

"What is that?" Draco asked as he sat down in his usual spot on the sofa.

"Oh, just an invite from Astoria."

"An invite for what?" He raised an eyebrow, remembering what happened the last time Astoria invited Crystal out for an afternoon.

In response, Ginny wordlessly handed him the letter. She grabbed her mug with both hands after handing it over, watching him over the rim as he read it.

A couple of quick scans and he looked back up at his genie. If she were standing, she would've been bouncing on the balls of her feet like a child when they're excited. Her eyes went wide and she placed her mug to the side, letting it float as usual.

He didn't say anything for a moment because, realistically, he should be saying no to Astoria's request. But then he saw how clearly hopeful Ginny was and — ugh. That look was going to be dangerous for him the longer she was in his life. He was already trying his hardest to not be so blatant about his increasing affection for the woman sitting next to him; but this was testing his patience. Like her, he was trying not to assume anything considering they were still in a strange situation. And yet, she wouldn't stop making doe eyes at him in an attempt to wear him down.

The genie sat up a little straighter in her seat. He was taking too long. "I know how much you worry about things like this, but I promise to be a very good girl and be on my best behavior for the entire trip."

Draco felt his cheeks get warm as Ginny said that she would be a very good girl. Why was he imagining the two of them as adults, but in their Hogwarts uniforms, in an alcove in the Astronomy Tower? He didn't even care about her when they were in school! But his new fantasy was apparently very into the idea of a uniformed Ginny cheekily playing with the end of his school tie as she asked what she needed to do to avoid punishment from Prefect Draco.

He surmised there would be a need for a Silencing Charm, and maybe a bit of cushioning to account for the stone floor and walls. But, sweet Merlin, she would look radiant in the moonlight as she rode him to completion.

He cleared his throat as he tried to clear his mind; pocketing yet another little treat for his nightly shower. He looked back up at her and sighed. "Knowing Astoria, you'll be going some place secluded enough that you should be fine to join her on vacation."

His genie started squealing in excitement, kicking her feet up and down for added effect. Draco started laughing at the sight. He didn't think she would be this excited to join Astoria Greengrass for a weekend trip.

Before he could think on it further, he suddenly found himself wrapped in her arms. She had hopped over to where he sat and gave him a hug.

After another long squeal, she said, "You're the best master a girl could ask for!"

The physical contact caught him off guard, and he tensed up at first before relaxing at her statement. Part of him was hoping Ginny would later see this as his way of showing how much he cared for her. That he was slowly, but surely tossing out little crumbs and clues as to his feelings so he could gauge her reaction each time. If his New Year's plan was to go smoothly, he needed to be absolutely positive she was going to stick around after he wished for her freedom.

She was still squeezing him tight when he said, "Yes, well, you have been rather helpful and I can't keep you all to myself, now can I?"

He looked down to see her response and he couldn't help but be satisfied at the shade of pink gracing the tops of Ginny's cheeks. The second part of his reply wasn't accidental. He desperately wanted to keep her close to him at all times and her cute little blush may have indicated that she liked the idea of being his. But patience was a virtue for a reason, and he needed to continue practicing it. Whereas his greed was a sin he needed to keep in check. Patience told him that these occasional moments of physical contact were more than enough to tide him over until the new year. Something about slow and steady winning the race and, by Merlin, was he determined to win that race.

Ginny forced herself to let go, even though her spur-of-the-moment contact with him almost made her forget herself as she got a good whiff of him again. His little comment about keeping her all to himself didn't help matters either, the cheeky git. She eventually situated herself back to her corner on the couch, grasping her mug again in the hope that being far too preoccupied with drinking its contents would distract her from a rabbit hole of thoughts.

As she finished her lukewarm mug of coffee, she remembered the other thing that she had been trying to distract herself from earlier.

"So," a pause to call his attention to her. "How did it go?"

Immediately, Draco slumped down in his seat as he was prone to, letting out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"It went better than I was expecting."

"That's great!" Ginny cried out, finally placing her mug off to the side. "Anything you want to share?"

She was looking hopefully at him again. The only one who would really make the news these days was Harry, but she wanted to know her brother and Hermione were doing alright.

He sighed, realizing that it might actually be okay to tell her. "Your brother and his fiancé," he paused, knowing that it was okay to push forward as she relaxed into her spot on the couch, "are doing well. They are now living together, which, I think, has done them some good. They seem more at ease around each other. They haven't given up hope, Gin."

He took another pause, sitting up to look at her, only to notice that she was wiping away tears. He reached out a hand to take one of hers, giving it a squeeze in support. "Outside of that, Hermione decided to work with the research team under my mother's charity and," pausing again to huff, "she felt the need to remind me about the time she punched me during our third year."

His irritability was quickly replaced with a smirk as he saw Ginny's shoulders shake, trying not to laugh at him. "Go ahead and laugh; we all did as we recounted it."

It was all the permission Ginny needed as she let go of his hand and doubled over. Her laugh was loud and boisterous and, suddenly, Draco found himself chuckling along with her. He was still too prideful to ever fully laugh at the situation, but he supposed that, in hindsight, the moment could be amusing to the casual onlooker.

After about a minute or so, she finally calmed down, clutching onto her stomach to help relieve the dull ache her cackles had provoked. "God, I wish I would've been there in person to witness it."

Her master glared at her. "Oh, but whatever happened to us not needing to talk about our time at school?" he asked, half-serious.

His genie simply waved him off. "We don't, you big baby. Doesn't change the fact that I would've been twelve at the time, and twelve year old me would've found the sight hilarious."

She laughed again at his grumbled "whatever," before changing the topic for his benefit.

"My amusement at your expense aside, I am really — is it weird to say this? — proud of you for having a civil conversation with my brother and his friends. And I'm grateful to you for letting me know that they haven't given up on me yet." Her last few words were murmured and she found that she couldn't quite make eye contact with him, instead settling for looking down at her fidgeting hands.

She thought back to the moments before he returned home; where she was almost convinced that Draco wasn't behaving like this with any other woman his age. Between yesterday and their time on the sofa just now, there had been more comforting hugs, touches, and verbal reassurances passed between them compared to what they had experienced thus far. It felt as though they were both on the cusp of admitting something, but they were both too worried about their weird arrangement and instead settled for living in perpetual sexual tension.

He thought he was being slick, but there were a couple of moments where Ginny noticed his eyes lingering on her longer than normal. Or how certain night time showers took more time than they used to when she was first given her room. And how he'd rejoin her in his living room after those showers a bit more flushed, eyes a bit more hooded, looking at her as though only she could sate his thirst.

At first she wasn't sure what to make of it. Initially, she chalked it up to men being, well, men. She then remembered that by the time Draco had dinner with the Greengrasses, she was okay with acknowledging her attraction to him. And the morning after Daphne's "introduction" to Crystal, Ginny had actually spotted the looks Blaise and Draco had been giving one another, some of which were directed at her. She didn't want to assume anything at the time, but the past twenty-four hours were giving her a strong argument that she had every right to assume away.

She wanted to groan out loud. She wanted to be tangled up on the couch with him, as though they were a real couple, and not in this weird platonic limbo.

She took a deep breath. She needed to stay focused on what was supposed to be her job. Not figuring out ways to make Draco crack under pressure well before New Year's.

"Oh, you're welcome, and thanks."

The words cut off her train of thoughts and she looked up to see her master giving her a small smile; a flush of pink gracing the tops of his ears.

Yes, Ginny was convinced now. Draco Malfoy was, at the very least, interested in her.

A/N - Thank you for reading! Appreciate y'all and the continued love folks give this fic.