Chapter 9

A/N: Many, many thanks to Wildcatcdc and Sc010f for their patience, guidance and support.

Neither remembered entering his bedroom. He stood her next to the high sleigh bed that stood prominently against the far wall of the room. To either side were windows draped in nothing more than green silk. The furniture was dark and tasteful, and the counterpane was startlingly white, while the floor was covered in a thick, dark green pile.

They stood for a moment, looking at each other, taking in their flushed cheeks, bright eyes and moistened lips. He reached up slowly and cupped her face, slowly lowering his mouth to meet hers once more. The kiss was achingly slow, but powerful.

"Hermione," he murmured, tracing his lips over her mouth, to her chin then down her delicate neck to the base of her throat, sucking gently on the tender flesh before laving it with his tongue.

Reluctantly, his mouth left her skin and he lifted his head. "Before we proceed, there is something you must know, something I want to tell you," he whispered. His hands were caressing her shoulders, as if he couldn't bear to break contact with her skin. He traced her fingertips down her arms.

"You are the piece that has been missing in my life. When I held you in my arms, that day in your office, I'd felt like I'd come..."

"Home?" Hermione interrupted. She was now cupping his face in her hands, smiling softly into his deep obsidian eyes.

Severus nodded, scanning her face, looking for an indication of her feelings. He felt himself slipping into her warm, golden-brown eyes, and there he felt her acceptance, her care and concern for him, her loyalty and esteem. And love. He felt her love, felt in it wrap around him, warming him, filling up the empty cracks and crevices in his heart and soul and mind. He shuddered under the intensity; he knew she felt the same.

He smiled softly before leaning and taking possession of her mouth again. "Yes, home."

There were no slow movements, now. With one purpose, they began removing each other's clothing. In between gasps and soft sighs and low moans, piece-by-piece, they fell away. Buttons were opened, zippers undone, laces untied. A soft murmur of thanks was uttered by Severus as he freed Hermione's breasts from her scrap of a bra. Cupping the soft globes, he ran his thumbs over her nipples, encouraging them to harden. He lowered his head and gently kissed the soft flesh, raising a moan from Hermione's throat.

As his hand explored her breasts, learning their shape and weight, the sensitive areas that had her catching her breath, her hands closed over his, and the sight of her fingers intertwining with his, the contrast of small and large, set fire in Severus.

He pulled her to him, their thighs brushing, his hard length pressing hard into her belly. Hermione gasped and raised herself on her toes, seeking more direct contact, her pussy now wet with desire.

They wasted no time falling into the bed. Hermione scooted back onto the pillows as Severus climbed onto her. On his hands and knees above her, he bent down to kiss her mouth; their tongues danced and tangled, learning their shapes and textures and tastes. Hermione wanted to wrap her arms and legs around him, pull him down and into her, but before her desire-laden body could respond, he shifted, bending low so that his mouth began a slow decent down the long plane of skin. He was intent on learning every inch of her, every spot that drew forth pleasure, every patch that made her giggle and moan.

He kissed and traced her nipples with his tongue before gently sucking on them, gradually pulling more and more flesh into his mouth, and Hermione arched off the bed as the ragged course of sensations ran down her spine, flooding her pussy with hot, delicious wetness.

He dipped his tongue into her navel, and she couldn't stifle her giggle. He chucked at her reaction, and his warm breath on her skin raised bumps on the sensitive flesh. He moved lower still, tracing her pelvic bones with his long nose as he kissed and licked the delicate skin. When he finally moved to her mound, Hermione whimpered. She let her legs fall back, unself-consciously opening herself to him, inviting him to explore.

Severus' sharp intake of breath permeated the room. He waited no longer; eagerly, he feasted on her womanhood. There was nowhere his mouth did not explore; he nudged her clit with his nose as he smelled her unique scent. He gave wet, open mouth kisses to her soft flesh, following the seam to her opening. There, his tongue delved inside.

As his mouth feasted upon her, Hermione's hands were busy trying to find purchase, to hold some part of him, but his shoulders pinned her legs wide, and her hands only found his head. She thrust into his mouth, moving in time with his tongue as he flattened it and ran it along her slit, from her perineum to her clit.

"Severus, Severus," Hermione moaned softly and brought herself up on her elbows. He paused briefly and looked up at her from between her legs. A shiver ran down her back at the sight of Severus Snape's black eyes peering up at her from between her legs. Like a cat, he lunged forward, pouncing atop her and kissed her. She could taste herself on his tongue, and it spurred her desire to new heights.

"Turn around, Severus," urged Hermione as she broke the kiss. She reached down their bodies to grasp his cock in her small hands, and she felt him lurch. His eyes registered his surprise, then a smile took hold of his face, and with another soul-searing kiss, he complied. They took a moment to arrange themselves on his large bed, with strategically placed pillows to ensure maximum comfort and access.

Severus wasted no time in returning to Hermione's pussy. Where before the room had been silent but for the soft moans and heavy breathing, words of pleasure and encouragement filled the room.

"You've the sweetest tasting pussy, Hermione," Severus praised between kisses. "Your skin is soft and hot."

Hermione took a moment to admire the magnificent cock in front of her. She ran her hand down his inner thigh then up, lightly tracing over his heavy balls to his cock, proud and erect, droplets of pre-come glistening on his glans. She leaned forward and daintily licked, and Severus lurched, heaving a breath of air, causing Hermione to smile wantonly, as if pleased by his reaction to her initial touch.

From there, she wasted little time. Taking his hard length in her hot, little hands, she guided him into her mouth, where she set upon him, using her tongue and her lips and her imagination. She used every part of herself that would reach him; her breast was pressed into his pelvic area, her arm wrapped underneath his leg to clutch at his inner thigh. Her hand held his cock, occasionally sliding along his length as she eagerly and steadily brought him into the warm cavern of her mouth. She kissed his hot flesh and licked the small planes and crevices, talking and cooing.

"You taste so good on my tongue. You feel perfect in my mouth, but I want you inside me, I need to feel you moving in and out of me." On and on she whispered and praised, all the while Severus working her to a fever pitch. When he slid his long finger deep into her body, she rose to meet it eagerly. Inserting another, her breath caught in her throat. And when the tip of another found its way into the small, tight hole of her anus, she screamed in delight, convulsing in a deliciously long orgasm that stole the words from her mouth, leaving her mumbling long, unintelligible ramblings.

Severus moved from Hermione's side, even as she reached for him. Returning to the bottom of the bed, he looked at her splayed out. Her legs spread wide, her pussy wet and swollen, and a blush that spread from her glorious breasts up her neck to her face. Her eyes were half-closed, but intense and she peered down at him.

"Come here," she demanded softly, and once again, he sprung, covering his body with his. He entered her, smoothly and steadily, seating himself fully as his lips settled on hers. Hermione instinctively brought her legs up and wrapped them around his waist, tilting her hips so that the tip of his cock touched her cervix. She gasped at how completely he filled her, stretched her, and how her body eagerly accepted him.

They whispered their hopes and dreams to each other, made promises to each other as they moved together, and with each promise made, each hope for their future offered, their hearts opened to what was being revealed before them.

With their foreheads touching and their hot sweet breath on each other's lips, they moved fast and furious to their completion. As they stared into each other's eyes, they saw their future intertwined and knew they'd come home.

Later, panting for breath, Severus pulled Hermione into his arms and pulled the soft cotton sheet around them. The room smelled of sex and candles and Hermione's own scent. Almost as if he was afraid to ask, he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then opened them to look down at her. "Well then..." he began.

In his arms, Hermione squeezed her arms around his middle and giggled. "We've some specifics to work out, of course," she agreed, knowing without a doubt of what he'd been about to say.

"Where?" Severus asked lazily, his fingers tracing rune symbols on her arm and shoulder.

"Here, without a doubt," she answered immediately. "I'll not be sorry to give up the house. Besides," she continued and she wiggled contentedly, "I've become permanently attached to this bed. I doubt I'll be able to leave it for a week, let alone before Monday."

It was then that she sat up like a shot, startling Severus so that he released her immediately.

"Sod work." She said it forcefully, full of conviction and mettle. Just as quickly, she twisted and fell onto his chest. His arms came around her immediately, holding her fast. She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him energetically.

"I no longer work at the Ministry," Hermione announced between kisses. "I'm no longer working on that gods-damned book. In fact, the Minister can shove that book right up his..."

"The Minister had his own reasons for the book, Hermione," Severus interrupted with a few kisses of his own. "And now is not the time to show your displeasure at an assignment placed in your hands. In fact..." he paused as he saw the smile that transformed Hermione's face.

"You're right, of course, Severus. I'll need to convince him that Wizard Studies courses for all levels at Hogwarts is an absolute necessity, won't I? And what better way to show him how important it is needed than through this book?"

"Quite so," Severus murmured approvingly, then rolled onto her back and lowered his mouth to her neck, effectively cutting off further conversation until later. Much later.