Ch 4

By the time they had portkeyed to the British Virginia Islands, checked into the hotel and made their way to their room, it was almost five in the afternoon local time. Given the fact that his stomach kept insisting he was hours late for supper, he knew they would need to find some dinner soon. Before he could say a word, his stomach growled for him, making Hermione laugh.

"Well, some things never change," she laughed. "Come on. Let's unpack our things real quick and then go see if there is a place to eat nearby. With the time change we are going to be exhausted early anyway, so we'll probably be asleep in a few hours."

He couldn't argue with her logic, though it seemed a shame to waste such a gorgeous view to just sleep. They made their way back to the lobby, and the innkeepers said they didn't serve dinner but they did have breakfast in the morning and would pack picnic lunches if they wanted one the next day. Then they recommended two nearby muggle restaurants, and while they said the seafood place had the best food, the Italian place had the best view of the sunset and the best pizza.

"Pizza it is," grinned Ron. Then, catching himself, he turned back to Hermione and added, "is that alright?"

"Pizza sounds good," she agreed.

They found a table under an umbrella on the sundeck, and the innkeeper had been right. The view of the sun over the ocean was incredible. The restaurant wasn't on the beach directly, but it was nestled into a cliff. From the front it looked like a dingy roadside dive, but as soon as you walked in you could see nothing but the magnificent view.

"Blimey, we could just stay here the whole time and it would still be worth it," Ron mumbled.

"No kidding. This is stunning."

"Not to mention it smells like heaven as well," Ron grinned.

They quickly ordered a large pizza to share and drinks and a salad for each of them. Hermione leaned back in her seat and grinned watching Ron enjoy the carbonation of muggle sodas. The way he let himself fall into the pure bliss of childlike wonder at simple things was one of the parts of Ron she hoped never changed. God, she mused, if she was able to have children, they would be so lucky to have a dad like him.

"I know I sound like my dad when I say this, but I can't get over how these drinks always tickle my nose and make me hiccough. It's so weird and so good all at once," he laughed.

"I do love you," she smiled.

"I love you too. Though I do feel like this dinner could be our first real date alone, just the two of us in – well, hell, I can't even remember the last time we went out to dinner. Sorry about that."

"It's not your fault, Ron," she said, reaching for his hand. "It's just been an insane time. Well, it always seems like an insane time, but these few months seem worse than usual, even for us, don't you think?"

"Well, yeah," he admitted.

"I mean obviously I still see you a lot; we do live together after all."

"And thank heaven for that; if we didn't happen to sleep in the same bed and pass each other in the kitchen every now and then we'd never see each other."

"Pitiful, isn't it?"

"Well, I don't know that it's pitiful, but it isn't a pattern I hope we keep up for long."

"Well, George said he's going to get back into working full time again. That will help a lot."

She yawned as she leaned back to make room for the waiter to put their salads on the table.

"Sorry," she said. "It's already past my bedtime at home," she said through another yawn.

"Me too," he agreed. "But I am way too hungry to think about sleeping yet."

With that they tucked into their salads, and Ron downed half a loaf of garlic bread. And when the pizza arrived, Hermione's eyes almost bugged out of her head seeing how large it was, but Ron simply grinned and helped himself to the first piece. Ron knew the pizza was amazing because even Hermione ate two pieces. And, while he gorged on the perfect crust and cheese, even he couldn't finish the whole thing alone. So, they wrapped up the last few pieces to take back to their room. Ron figured he'd eat them before breakfast anyway.

They strolled back to the hotel and sat out on their terrace for a bit to watch the rest of the sunset. Ron was on a lounge chair, and Hermione was curled up on his lap, her head leaning on his chest.

She felt so sleepy and safe and cared for. His fingers were slowly running through her hair, and she struggled to keep her eyes open to watch the sunset.

"I know we need to talk and everything," she said with her eyes closed. "But can we do that tomorrow? This is nice, and I am about to fall asleep."

"Definitely," he said, placing a chaste kiss on the top of her head. "And this trip isn't just for that talk, you know. We just needed to get away just the two of us and reconnect. We don't do enough of this."

"Mmm Hmm," she agreed sleepily. She felt him chuckle beneath her, but then she dozed off, and the next thing she knew, she realized she was in bed next to her sleeping husband.

When Hermione next awoke, the clock on the bedside table read quarter past four in the morning. Despite being hours before dawn, she was impressed she'd slept as long as she had considering the five hour time difference. Ron stirred slightly, his breathing changing, but he didn't wake up. Instead he instinctively pulled her closer into his chest, his arms snuggly around her as he spooned up behind her in the bed. Hermione smiled, she'd always loved how he was protective of her even while sleeping.

It was strange, she mused, that while she adored how engrained his focus on her was, she reveled in it at some moments and yet felt suffocated by it in others. And if she couldn't figure out the difference, how could she explain it to him, let alone expect him to understand it? She was nervous about the conversation she knew they had to have. She loved him so much, and she knew some of the things she had to say might hurt him. But, she just hoped he didn't misunderstand her and think she didn't love him. She did. With all of her heart. It was just...

"Good morning," Ron yawned. "Or maybe it's a bit too aggressive to call it morning quite yet."

On cue, his stomach growled again.

"Good thing we saved that leftover pizza," Hermione said. "I would guess that the inn doesn't serve breakfast for another few hours."

He chuckled in agreement. There weren't many things that could drag him out of a warm bed with Hermione, but a loudly grumbling stomach was certainly one of them.

"How about I find some tea and you get the pizza and we sit out on the terrace. At some point it will turn from night to morning, right?"

Nodding, they both got up and soon regrouped on the terrace ready for their middle of the night breakfast. While he knew she wasn't actually hungry, he always appreciated how she made an effort to eat at least a little bit. She'd dragged out a blanket from their room, but they were both pleasantly surprised with how warm it was and soon realized they didn't need it.

"So other than absorbing all the sun and warmth we can while we enjoy this amazing view, are there things you want to do while we are here?"

"Naweely," Ron mumbled with mouth full of pizza. He just shrugged and smiled when she rolled her eyes. Once he swallowed his food he laughed, "Look, if you don't want me to talk with my mouth full, my dear, don't ask me questions as I take a giant bite of pizza."

"OK, fair enough," she laughed.

"But," he said wiping his mouth on his forearm, which earned him another eye roll, "no, there isn't a big plan for our time here. There is a town nearby which is supposed to be nice. Interesting marina, shops – that sort of thing. Then there are a ton of different beaches and hikes and such. We can ask which are the best to do with only a few days. I think a lot of muggles take boats out to the different islands, but obviously we can apperate if we want. And, there's fishing charters and things, but – well, yeah, the look on your face confirms my assumption that we've both gathered and hunted enough of our own food to last a lifetime."

"Amen."

He chuckled again. "Anything you want to be sure we do?"

"Well," she smiled guiltily, "usually I would research ahead of time, of course, and probably have a very specific schedule of suggestions. But I am going to just embrace the spontaneity of the moment. It's a surprise vacation anyway, may as well see where it takes us."

"Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?" he teases.

"Come on, now. I'm not that bad. Or, at least not anymore, am I?"

"No, and you were never bad. It's just that some days I still get surprised when you go all loosey goosey on me. Not that I'm complaining, mind you – just that I am caught off guard by it every now and then."

She got up and moved over to lay down on the same lounge chair Ron was on and curled up against him. With a wicked smile she said softly, "why, Ronald Weasley, did you just call me loose?"

He laughed heartily. "Oh Merlin, see, this is where I just dig myself in a hole and never realize it until I am already down in it. And I can't answer that because if I am screwed either way, aren't I?"

"Don't know," she shrugged with a smirk. "Seems to me I'd only screw you if I was a loose woman."

"Oh, you're going to pay for that," he smirked, turning on the chair so he was now hovering over her.

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah," he said as he bent to capture her lips.

He loved that he could feel her smile against him as she kissed him back. It wasn't that often that they ever made love anymore with them barely seeing each other to begin with due to their schedules. But when they did, it was usually quick and passionate. But this fun, playful Hermione, well, he'd missed this.

"What are you laughing at?" she whispered in his ear, the giggle barely contained in her own voice. "Is my attempt to seduce you so bad you're laughing?"

"Oh not at all," he said as she kissed down his neck, her smile still palpable against his skin. He ran his hands through her curls, still amazed at how just the brush of them against his skin still managed to arouse him as much now as it did before they'd ever kissed. He let his fingers softly trail along her jaw, down along her bare arms and over her tight vest to her hips covered only in tiny pajama shorts. While his hands traced over her skin, he let his lips dance over neck, placing kisses along her collar bone as he worked his way to her pulse point. "What has me smirking, my dear, is your clearly failing attempt at being solemn and serious." And with that he pinched her bum, causing her to yelp and laugh more.

"Hmm," she tried to hum disapprovingly, but he pulled back, still hovering over her and saw the light dancing in her eyes.

"Fuck, I love you, Hermione," he said with a smile as he lowered his head enough to just nuzzle his nose against her soft cheek. He felt his eyes flutter closed his her fingers moved to his hair, and he got lost in the sensation of her fingernails against his scalp.

"I love you, too, Ron," she said, all trace of joking now absent from her voice.

With that the feel in the air around them shifted, and Ron grabbed for his wand on the table next to them and cast both privacy and contraception charms and then rolled onto his back with Hermione now straddling his lap. He raised his arms to help her remove her vest and then they did the same for his t shirt, and soon they were lost in the magic sensation of their bare skin against each other. He didn't care how many times they'd done this, but the skin of her breasts had to be the softest fucking thing on the entire planet. He took one breast in his mouth while the other breast brushed against his cheek, first brushing down his cheek and then we he pulled back a miniscule amount they both felt his morning stubble catch against her soft, white flesh. This sensation caused them both to moan, only encouraging him to bury himself deeper into her chest.

He felt her lips kiss the top of his forehead as she held him tightly to her chest, her fingers lightly caressing his ears and neck causing his skin to respond electrically to her every touch. With his attention still focused on her breasts, moving his lips from one to the other, he felt one of her hands reach down to start stroking him over his quickly tenting pajama bottoms. He heard a groan leave his mouth, and had to lean into her for a moment to catch his breath as she applied more pressure to his now-hard cock. Regaining his senses he leaned up to kiss her fiercely, and then moved his hands to her hips to shimmy her small shorts and knickers down off of her hips. She took the opportunity to rid him of his pajamas and pants as well, and soon they were bare to each other and the night sky above them.

Straddling him, she was now rocking her hips and grinding against his length, her wet folds setting fire to his skin and causing him to hiss in response. He moved his fingers down to massage her clit, and he felt her catch her breath as he found the bundle of nerves. Circling it with his thumb her pressed a finger into her, and soon added a second as he felt her start to come close.

She whimpered as he increased his speed and pressure against her, and she closed her eyes to focus only on the tightening coil in her belly. With his hand working both of her pleasure points, she leaned back, panting as she continued to move her hips against him, chasing release. But it wasn't until he leaned up, and lightly nipped at her pebbled nipple that she exploded, quivering and spasming as she came undone atop of him. He didn't stop his hand, only let up momentarily before starting up again, spiraling her into a second orgasm that had her collapsed against him as she caught her breath. He peppered her with soft kisses as she recovered, holding her tightly to his chest and nuzzling against her.

"I love you so much," he whispered against her ear. "You're the most amazing person I have ever met, and I am so lucky to be the one who gets to experience this with you. I'm so sorry it's been so long. I've missed this, I've missed watching you just release and just feel like that. I promise I won't let us drift so again, Hermione."

As she regained her breathing and bearings after her two earth shattering orgasms, she tightened her hold against Ron as well. "I love you too, and it took both of us to let it go too long. But now it's my turn, love. Let me love you," she whispered as she moved her weight to her knees and began kissing down his chest.

"I just want to be inside you," he said.

"No, we're always rushed. You need to let me love you slowly like you did for me. I want to, Ron. I need to. Please?" she asked.

In the moonlight he could see the earnest expression in her eyes almost begging him to choose this course, and so he nodded with a smile, letting his back relax against the lounge chair as his hands still danced along her arms and through her crazy curls as she kissed down his chest.

He felt her tongue over his nipple and hissed as she grazed her teeth over it while she pinched the other one. She moved on to some particularly tender spots she had discovered over the years, and was soon lavishing his belly-button with her tongue, causing him to automatically arch his back and thrust his hips up. This did not shift her attention away from his belly button, but one hand shifted to press down on his hip bone while the other moved down to softly fondle his sack, eliciting another soft moan and sigh from him. He had always loved watching her like this, so focused and attentive like her studious self had always been. But, unlike studying or reading when she tuned out every sound or sight other than her book, she seemed to become hyper-attuned to his reactions. She seemed to sense every sigh or moan or muscle twitch that came in response to her ministrations, and she was constantly revising and plotting to get the exact reaction she wanted from him. In so many ways, he knew that he had been utterly under her control since he was about 14 years old, but in these moments where it wasn't only his heart and mind but also every cell and fiber of his body at her mercy he couldn't help but wonder at her even more.

Her mouth had made it to his straining cock, and she moved her wet core further down along his legs so she could better take him in her perfect mouth. She grasped his length and the base in one hand, softly rolling his bollocks in the other as she licked up his shaft, finally moving her eyes up to meet his. He saw nothing but love and lust there, and it never ceased to overwhelm him to feel so loved, so cherished, and so much fucking pleasure all at the same time. She broke eye contact and tilted her head down to focus on what she was doing, causing her curls to fall against his hyper sensitive skin. He reached down to touch her hair and held in a breath as he tried not come undone at the sensations. Her tongue was now circling his tip and he knew he couldn't take much more, but somehow, she knew it too without him having to say a thing.

Her head came up again and she smiled at him as she let his cock release from his mouth with a loud pop. Then she was up on her knees, centering herself over him, one hand positioning him beneath her and one on his chest for balance. He closed his eyes briefly, steadying his breath to not come too early, and soon he felt that perfect sensation of being engulfed inside her. It didn't matter how many times he felt this, it was always perfection getting to that center of her only for him. He opened his eyes and took in the image of her in bliss atop him, her eyes shut as she adjusted to their joining. And when she opened them and caught his gaze, he was so captured in her love that he wouldn't have noticed if a hippogriff had landed right next to them.

In those moments it was only them, and the rest of the world disappeared. Since that first time in Australia, sex had always been amazing for them. Even in the rushed shags they managed in the past few months, the physical bliss for both of them had always been tremendous. But it had been months since they had taken their time with each other, months since they had slowly brought out every ounce of pleasure from the other. Months since they had truly made love.

His hands ran up her bare thighs to her hips and over her arse, helping to lift her lower her with each thrust. Her hands held to his chest, bracing against him as she lifted herself up and came down, impaling herself upon him. She groaned at the sensation, and he could feel her breathing quicken, and he bit his bottom lip trying to hold on and not tumble into the abyss of pleasure without her. With one hand still supporting her arse, the other slid inward along the crease where her thigh met her core until his fingers found her folds. Still not releasing their fierce gaze, he began to rub against her clit until she came, and he immediately followed as they both gasped in pleasure and release. Her walls shook around him and milked his release as he gave a final thrust up into her now limp body that had collapsed against him. Then he threw his scarred arms around her and just held her. They both lay there, utterly spent and limbs with no strength left, heartbeats pounding rapidly but somehow in the same rhythm, and breaths panting, but again in sync as they slowly emerged from their post-coital haze.

He wasn't sure how long they lay there, still intimately joined, just breathing and existing as one. And, he wasn't sure if either or both of them had fallen asleep. Eventually he found the strength to kiss her neck and begin to stroke her back softly. She didn't move, but eventually he felt her take a breath as if she was preparing to speak.

"That was amazing," she finally said, still making no attempt to move any muscles aside from her mouth.

He grinned against her skin. "I would have to agree. If not our best ever, then certainly up there."

He felt her chuckle in response. "You keep track?" she asked, amusement alight voice.

"Well, maybe not keep track exactly," he laughed, his fingers now trailing up and down her spine. "There is no list or anything, but that much pleasure searing through your body has to register its spot in the brain somewhere, don't you think?"

"Probably," she conceded leaning up to look at him. "But list or no list, that was amazing. I love you."

"I love you too," he said as he kissed her. Then he eyed her a moment. "You're going to make me get up now, aren't you?" he teased.

"No, I'm not going to make you do anything," she said with a smile. "But I am going to get up and go clean up. If you happen to want to join me in the shower, then that is totally your decision."

He squeezed her against him in a hug as he kissed the top of her head. "My bloody brilliant witch. Making me do things while making me think they are my own idea to begin with."