Four

A/N: Smut Alert!

Hermione felt the lump form in her throat before she had the chance to speak, and something between a sob and a laugh escaped her before she was able to stop it. Tears spilled down her face, and she took Severus's hand in hers, entwining their fingers fiercely.

Severus could feel her trembling beside him, but he didn't know if it was from joy or fear. His life had lurched from one disappointment to another, most of them not of his own making. Like a puppet, he had been manipulated, pushed and pulled physically, emotionally, morally, and ethically, always against his own grain. He had known this was a leap of faith, and he still couldn't look at Hermione. He was automatically programmed to wait for another tug on his strings. And tug she did.

'Okay,' said softly, turning herself to face him. A thin, watery smile trembled around her lips, and when their eyes met, Hermione's grin spread fully into one of pure joy. Severus felt his stomach drop away from him. He couldn't recall anyone ever smiling at him with such happiness.

'You don't know where I'm going,' he said wryly, unable to stop his lips twitching as he tried to hold back his laughter.

Hermione shifted from her seat and slid herself onto his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled her nose against his throat. Inhaling deeply, his maleness sent a shiver directly to her vagina, and she squirmed slightly to alleviate the tension. She pressed her moist, warm lips to his skin, and a moan reverberated through Severus's chest, vibrating directly against Hermione's breasts. Her nipples started to tingle, and with a gasp she pushed herself more firmly against his shirt as she proceeded to lick his flesh, moving along his throat to his collar. Her nimble fingers unfastened his buttons until his neat patch of dark chest hair and hard, pink nipples were exposed to the elements. With a gasp of pleasure and a whimper of urgency, Hermione moved her face to his torso and let her tongue remember the taste of him as her hips started to wriggle against his evident erection.

Severus tipped his head back and closed his eyes as his hands buried themselves in her curls. So many times he had dreamt of this and passed it off as foolish fantasy. Her tongue was running its soft pink wetness against his nipple, and his hands drifted down, caressing the smooth satin of her slip until he found the hemline. Grasping the fabric, he pulled it up her body until he encountered the barrier of her breasts. Eagerly, Hermione sat up, and their hands met as they pulled the slip over her bra and then her head, now a mass of tousled curls. They let it fall to the ground unnoticed. Severus cupped her face with his hands, and their lips collided, mouths open and gasping. Severus leaned forward to facilitate Hermione's desperate need to remove his shirt, but between them, they only succeeded to pull it half-way down his arms, effectively trapping him. With exasperation, they stared at each other, and then with a shared thought, they both made a dive for Severus's fly. Coherent thought was leaving him abruptly, but with his last thread of consciousness Severus realised that Hermione's fingers were smaller and more adept for the task in such a small space.

Pulling his hands away, he contented himself with stroking the flesh of her slim thighs and wishing he wasn't so constrained. His eyes focussed on the cotton of her white knickers, her damp crotch bared to him as she straddled him, but no matter what his intent, his shirt held him firmly fixed.

With a satisfied sigh, Hermione hooked her finger under the buttons of Severus's fly and pinged them open quickly. Her eyes met his, and smoky desire clouded her gaze as she pulled the tails of his shirt forcefully from his trousers. Severus shrugged the shirt from his arms and took full advantage of his freedom by running a hand along Hermione's inner thigh. Catching the back of her head with his other hand, he kissed her gently, exploring her mouth with his tongue as his index finger encountered knicker-elastic and soft but deliciously wet cotton. With a soft sigh, Severus pulled his head away, teasing Hermione through her knickers as he gazed at her face.

'Hermione,' he whispered softly.

Hermione shifted forward slightly, curled her hand inside his trousers and released his penis gently. Her hand caressed him tenderly, and she dropped her eyes to look at him. She had never seen him in the daylight.

The tip of his penis was poking through his foreskin, and moisture glistened there. Hermione pulled her hand up his length and let her thumb skim over the top, gently rubbing the wetness across and over his glans. Severus gasped and twitched in her hand as he watched her.

Blushing, Hermione raised her gaze to his and smiled a little. Moving her hands to waistband of his trousers, Hermione leaned forward, pushing her breasts into his face. Shuddering as Severus took the hint and sucked at her caramel nipples eagerly through the fabric of her bra, Hermione laughed lightly.

'Up,' she instructed him.

Awkwardly, and because he didn't want to stop sucking at her breasts, Severus raised his buttocks to let Hermione push his trousers lower. His cock brushed against the softness of her crotch as they shifted, and they moaned in harmony, pushing their bodies even closer. Hermione dipped her face to his, and they kissed with abandon, tongues deeply thrusting. Hermione cupped her hand around Severus's testicles and up the length of his cock, wrapping her fingers firmly around his girth before moving the soft skin up and down, up and down. Severus growled and slipped his fingers beneath her kickers, slipping two long digits through her sopping folds and sliding them wetly over the engorged nub of her clitoris.

'Oh!' Hermione gasped, unable to continue her worship of his mouth with her own as he pleasured her with his hand. Tipping her head back, Hermione increased her pace as she masturbated Severus to grunting pitch. With a need Hermione had never felt before, she shifted herself forward and rubbed the head of Severus's cock between her labia. His fingers didn't cease thrumming her clit, but Hermione removed her fingers from his length as she shifted and slid his penis inside her.

'Gods!' Hermione cried out, her eyes closed as she concentrated on the feelings of intense arousal between her legs.

'Yes,' Severus growled, tipping himself back slightly. His cock went even deeper, and they both shouted out their desire as Hermione started to ride him firmly. Severus felt his balls tightening, and he increased the pressure of his fingertips on her clit as she moved back and forth. A wet, squelching sound was coming from between them, and suddenly, Hermione felt Severus go even harder as she gripped him inside of her.

'Oh God!' she shouted, her thighs trembling around him as she moved faster, the head of his cock pushing firmly against that special spot inside her.

'Oh, gods, witch. You need to come, now,' he urged her, gripping her thighs as she rode him.

Whether it was his words or the increase in tempo and friction of his fingers that sent Hermione over the edge, Severus didn't know or care. As she cried out, her muscles went into spasm around his cock, making her tighter and wetter. With a delighted cry, Severus thrust himself upwards, and his semen shot from him in thick bursts, leaving him basking in a glow of pleasure and satisfaction.

Hermione sobbed and collapsed onto his chest. Three years of grief coupled with the intensity of their lovemaking and her relief that he was here and he was real spilled out of her in torrents as she held onto his shoulders tightly.

Severus wrapped his arms possessively around her and cradled her to his body, gently stroking her tear stained cheeks and pressing soft butterfly kisses to her hair.

By the time they returned inside, the sun had dipped low behind the roof of the house, and Hermione was wearing Severus's shirt.