"I love you!" I cried at his retreating back, even though I knew he couldn't love me back. Even though I knew he might never feel for me a smidge of what I felt for him.
I felt it so strongly inside of me that it was about to burst. And I had to let it out.
With his back still turned to me, I saw his fists and jaw clench. I had learned every line of his chiseled marble face by now. Even the slightest tensing sent ripples through my insides.
"You know I can't feel anything like that for you, Astoria," he said in a calm, steely voice. If he had been facing me right then, I knew his eyes would have been an ocean of tumult.
"I know," I whispered, looking down. "But I had to tell you how I felt."
He didn't say anything. Upright and proud as always, he kept his black suited self turned away from me, no doubt waiting for me to leave first, so he would never have to look at my face ever again.
I turned to leave. A small part of me was burning with shame, but another, much larger part of me was glad that I had said it. I felt lighter and freer. And ready to move on with my life with one less Malfoy in it.
I took one step down the stairs of the Astronomy Tower.
A pale hand grabbed my wrist and spun me around.
"Mmmf!" I didn't have any time to react as a pair of gorgeous supple lips came crashing down on mine. Even more gorgeous was the panting blonde boy attached to them.
I sighed as I melted into his embrace. So many nights had begun like this. Us up in Astronomy Tower, his body exploring mine.
Until I became accustomed to his touch, trained to crave his touch, tempted and teased by just the sight of him before me.
I pushed him away.
"Draco, what are you doing?" My hand stayed on his shoulder.
He looked taken aback. I had never done that before.
"I'm…doing what we always do."
"And what we always do is what made me fall for you," I reminded him, dropping my hand. "I thought we were ending things."
"And I just…couldn't let you go," he rasped with want in his voice.
I caressed his face. "One last time?" I asked.
He buried his head in my shoulder. "One last time."
And then his lips were back on mine.
They were ravenous, like they always were, but this time there was also a sorrow to them. Like they knew this would be their last time touching mine and they needed to get all their fun in while it lasted.
I kissed him back in the same way.
He hands travelled under my robes, first up and then around and down.
"You have the perfect arse," he smiled, giving my behind a squeeze.
"As do you," I squeezed back, which made him squirm.
"And the perfect tits," his squeezing went higher.
"And the most perfect face I've ever seen," he gazed into my eyes.
Involuntarily, my heart skipped a beat. Stupid new-to-getting-over-Malfoy heart.
As his eyes got stormier and his voice got huskier, Draco pressed into me closer. I could feel every inch of every part of him.
We had done this countless times, but I always felt a thrill run through me when I felt him hard up against me, pulsing with want.
I shimmied against him, and he let out a soft moan.
"A helpless Malfoy," I teased. And that's what did it for him.
Pinning my hands over my head, he practically growled.
"Now who's really the helpless one here."
I gasped and my eyes got wide. "Not you," I got out between raspy pants. Certainly not with the way I felt like I was about to explode if I couldn't have him soon.
"When can I have you inside of me?" I asked nicely, widening my eyes into the puppy dog pout he always gave in to.
He raised his eyebrow devilishly now as he became the one doing the teasing squirming against me.
"Please," I panted out.
"Please what?" He caressed my face, enjoying it all a little too much.
"Please can I have you inside of me," I cried.
The throbbing emptiness inside of me was starting to hurt.
He smirked. "Good girl."
I sighed. Finally, finally, he eased himself into me.
Taking a moment to brace himself, he let out a soft moan of his own, and I felt the small thrill of having such control over his pleasure like this.
Grabbing both my hands in his and holding them above my head, he began to thrust. And over and over again, I felt filled.
"Draco," I moaned, as each thrust forced my body against the cold hard stones of the tower wall. It felt so good to be held and filled like this that everything else melted away.
"Fuck, I'm gonna come soon," Draco cursed. And I realized this was the first time in a long time he had let himself lose control like this.
With every part of me touching every part of him, we began to move in unison as he got closer and closer to his peak.
"Fucking take me, Draco," I thrust my hips against his harder, both a challenge and an order. "I'm all yours this one last time."
His eyes widened. He accepted the challenge. In a split-second, he began thrusting in and out of harder and faster and deeper. His one hand tightened around my hands, and his other gripped onto my waist that like there was no tomorrow.
"Yeah, you're mine, aren't you? You're fucking mine, you cum slut."
"Uh-uh-uhhhhhhhh." At that, he lost it, and the once powerful Malfoy wriggled against me as he rode out the full length of his orgasm.
I liked it, of course. His absolute helplessness in this moment and, of course, the involuntarily throbbing afterwards.
But this was the last time. And for once, I knew it was final.
I waited for him to stop writhing and weakly let go of me.
With a wave of my wand, my robes were tidied back up again. As if nothing had never happened.
Wordlessly, I turned to go.
"Wait, Astoria," Draco called out, still unclothed as he steadied himself against the wall. He reached down and took a vial out from his robes.
I half expected him to give me some compensation for my time, since with the Malfoys, there was no telling how shallow or scummy they could get.
But instead, he flashed me the label before taking a few drops on his tongue. In the glow of the moonlight, I saw that it read Veritaserum. Truth serum.
He looked at me sheepishly out of the corner of his eye, but he did not falter.
Turning to me, he looked me straight in the eye and, for a moment, I thought I was dreaming.
These were the words I had stopped holding out hope for a long time ago. These were the words that used to make me cry myself to sleep, because I so deeply believed that he would never ever say them to me, and that was final.
Yet there in the moonlight, under the unmistakable influence of Veritaserum, the words were coming right out of his mouth.
"Astoria, I love you. I love you, too."