Release

A/N: This chapter is dedicated wholeheartedly to my dear friend and trusty admin, SouthernWitch, who keeps me afloat on my bad days. Sunshine, this Severus is for you. May he grace your dreams forever.

~ Release ~

She shook her head in the slow realization that she had succumbed to a martini-haze.

When had he removed his robes and coat? His starched white shirt was even partway undone. She watched without protest as he reached out and traced the outline of her collarbone, teasing the tender skin at the base of her throat. When his hand wound its way beneath the surface of the water and lightly brushed across her left breast, she lifted her eyes to watch his face.

He didn't meet her gaze at first. He looked intent upon the feel of her skin, tracing the logical path beneath the bubbles. His fingers were like magic, eliciting feelings of warmth and sharp pangs of desire. Every nerve seemed to sing, trying to lure their prey in with their mesmerizing song.

His palm held the weight of her flesh, squeezing slightly, as though testing a piece of fruit for ripeness. The sigh that escaped her lips brought his attention to her face, and half-lidded eyes met his own. Keeping eye contact, he drew the tips of his fingers upward until they met at the skin surrounding her nipple. His thumb skirted the edge, almost teasingly, and then all five of his fingers pulled abruptly on the peak, twisting it just the right amount to send a stab of pleasure into her stomach, taking her breath away.

Turning her in the tub so that she faced him fully, he bent over the edge and took her taut nipple into his mouth. She moaned as his tongue circled and prodded, as his mouth created suction and tried to pull the tip of her breast deeper into his mouth. His hair became the only source of leverage that kept her afloat in the tub as he turned his attention to the other side.

She never knew that such a simple act could produce such feelings. She had never had someone treat her with such care, relishing her, devouring her, making it as pleasurable for her as it was for him. Each suckle, each stroke of the tongue, plucked nerves that vibrated straight to the point between her legs. Her blood boiled, and her skin glowed with desire. She wanted more. She wanted him.

"Severus," she whispered, not wanting to interrupt such wonderful feelings, yet desperate to make him understand how much she wanted him and how much she needed this. It had been so long since she had felt anything this good.

With great difficulty it seemed, for his movements were achingly slow, he pulled away from her body. The whimper that left her lips was purely involuntary. Perhaps so was his self-satisfied smirk. With great care, he laid her back so that her head came to rest on the edge of the tub.

"Yes, Hermione?" His flirtation was mild, imparting a sense of humor through the haze of his seduction. "Your every wish is my desire. All you need to do is tell me what you want."

Pulling her hips to the surface, his fingers clutched the bones that cradled the fire, which burned low in her abdomen and shone in her eyes. He began to stroke the delicate skin between her thighs and brush against her curls, stoking the fire, breathing life into the flames. She murmured unintelligible sounds of encouragement, begging to be touched. Her hips flexed in a wordless invitation... More.

The moan that filled the room was not her own. It was his: a deep, animalistic growl that made her even more needy for his touch. He was enjoying giving her pleasure, and that was the most sensual thing she had ever experienced in her sexually-deprived existence. That primal moan made the last of her clinging inhibitions fade and her mind melt in a cacophony of senseless supplications, praying for him to continue, to never stop.

She returned to her senses briefly as her hips rose to the surface, pressing her against his waiting mouth. His tongue turned the heat up on the fire as it slid upward with a long, broad stroke. She shuddered and her toes curled; it was extraordinary. It was glorious. My God, how could anything that felt this good be so terrible for a man to ...

"Wait," she pleaded breathlessly. "No. You can't..."

"I can and I will. Unless this..." He slowly swept his tongue between her lower lips and twisted it around her clitoris. "...doesn't feel good. Tell me you don't like this, and I promise I will stop."

Briefly, it occurred to her how unfair it was for him to turn her brain into mush when she was trying hard to get her point across.

"Mmmm ... but, Severus, you...you can't...I mean I don't...Harry told me..." Oh, gods, at this point she no longer cared as long as he kept doing what he was doing.

"Ah, so that's it," he murmured against her skin, sending vibrations through to her abdomen. "Mister Potter told you what? That he didn't like it? That he found it distasteful? Is that it?"

He punctuated his question with his pointed tongue, once, twice, and then three times in succession to divert her attention toward him and away from that self-centered prick of an ex- fiancé. She could no longer form words; she could only nod her head, which she did forcefully while biting her lip so as not to scream out for more.

"I happen to enjoy doing this," he said with another twist of his tongue and then a quick flick across the tip. "Your flesh is sweet on my tongue. It's as succulent as a perfectly ripened peach."

He pushed her legs open wider and wrapped his lips around the exposed flesh ... and sucked it in. "Don't hold back, Hermione," he whispered to her between nibbles. "Don't let the lies he told you take away from the pleasure I can give you. Let him go."

At that, he rolled her clitoris in between his lips and ground his tongue at the base, forcing her hips to rise completely out of the water and a scream to burst from her throat. He pulled every last ounce of pleasure she had been forbidden to feel from the deepest recesses of her body.

The tongue that could so easily cut a person to shreds was now healing her psyche and bringing her the most intense pleasure she had ever felt. She was never going back. She didn't want to go back, not after discovering what pleasure was, how good a man could make her feel ... how good Severus Snape could make her feel.

Somewhere beneath, her climax was building where his mouth and tongue feverishly worked. It sparked and grew, encompassing her entire lower half and spreading down to her toes. She felt like her skin could no longer hold this much pleasure in, and she knew that she was about ... to ... burst. Just a little more. Gods, yes, just a little bit more. And, with a flick of his tongue and a slip of his finger, she exploded against his lips, tears of pure bliss dampening her cheeks.

"Yesssss," he hissed against her, pressing his tongue against her, feeling the violent throb of her orgasm. "Mmmmm," he hummed. "Gods, you taste so good."

Her body paused, frozen at the simple words that came from his mouth, and she squealed. She couldn't believe it ... his words shot through her, arresting her climax and sending her to a higher level, making her climax anew, harder than before. She panted and squirmed against his mouth, and he held on tightly and caressed her swollen flesh until the spasms subsided.

Eventually, his lips found other places to roam, brushing the inside of her thigh, climbing to the swell of her belly, up toward her breasts, and finally to her mouth. He pulled her body to his, holding her as her breathing steadily slowed.

In her ear, he whispered, "Never let anyone tell you differently: You are so beautiful."

As if gifts were pouring from the heavens, showering her with pleasures and praises. After all that had happened, after being so distraught, what had she done to deserve this? What had she done to deserve Severus Snape's attention? A lone tear trickled out of one of her eyes, and gently he removed it, watching the emotions play across her face. It wasn't a tear of sadness, but one of happiness.

That was when she noticed that Severus was reclining halfway in the tub.

"I'm getting your shirt wet," she murmured against his shoulder.

"I don't care," he whispered. Her hair was damp and smelled faintly of cinnamon and nutmeg.

"Severus?" His name coming from her lips made him embrace her tighter.

"Yes, Hermione," he answered softly, ready to grant her anything she wished, hoping that she would never ask for him to let go.

"Take me to bed."

"Your wish is my desire, beautiful one," he answered. And he picked her out of the tub, with bubbles still clinging in certain places, and carried her to the candle-lit warmth of his bedchambers.

~~~o o~~~

The flame of the few candles that he had scattered throughout the room danced across the walls, bathing everything in an ideal glow. Her skin took on a golden hue, and so it was that she finally felt sexy for the first time that night...perhaps even for the first time in five years.

Severus laid her across his bed, watched as she sank into the velvet covering, and decided what he was going to do next. One of his hands ascended to the top of his collar, slid down the length of shirt that was already open, and began to undo the rest of the buttons. With intense curiosity, she watched his chest slowly come into view. He peeled back the fabric, removed it from his shoulders, and tossed it aside.

Every moment seemed to her like a slow dance, a deliberate action meant to titillate her senses. She propped herself on her elbows, displaying herself for him as he did the same for her. How she wanted to reach out to touch his chest, bathed in the same glow as hers, so different from its natural paleness. How she wanted to playfully toy with the sparse down that flirted the edge of his nipples and traveled beyond the confines of his trousers.

His trousers. The image of him earlier in the bathroom, relieving himself when he thought she wasn't looking, made her realize that there was nothing beneath those trousers ... except for skin. She followed the trail of hair downward to the top of his pants, where his hands now rested, and held her breath. She wondered vaguely if it was by design that the lower half of his body fell in the shadows. She could not see what lay beyond his hands.

This strip tease by a man whom she would have never thought capable of such an act filled her with newfound desire. She could feel the dampening already between her legs. She wanted to feel him there, nestled inside of her tightly. She wanted to feel the pleasure she knew he could give her.

Subconsciously, her right hand traveled across her stomach at the thought of him being ... right there. Her knee bent, opening the way for her fingers to slide between. It was only when he moaned in approval did she realize what she had done...what she was doing. A blush rose in her cheeks, but she did not stop the circling of her fingers over her already-sensitive skin. Deciding to make a show for him, she slowly spread her lips, displaying the most intimate part of herself for him. She had never performed this way for a man before...she had never performed like this for anyone. This was her most private act, and she was sharing it with him.

She let her middle finger slide down and then up, caressing her clitoris, as she focused on the hands that were now unfastening his pants. He held them closed for a moment, pausing to enjoy her reaction. Then, he looked into her eyes.

His gaze was full of raw desire. He wanted her, and he knew that she wanted him. Nothing could be better than this, a mutual desire of the same thing, a mutual pleasure. Satisfied still that she wanted this as much as he did, his pants fell open and dropped to the ground.

Good gods. If she had thought his size was impressive when he was flaccid, it was something to be admired when he was erect. He cupped his testicles with his left hand and pushed them upward against his shaft. It was a beautiful picture. One that was most appreciated, and one that caused her fingers to rub a little faster.

It wasn't that he was long, for though he was gifted in length, that wasn't where her concentration lay. No, indeed; it was in his girth. Sitting up, she abandoned her own flesh for his. She reached out and wrapped her fingers around his erection. Her eyes swam in delirium when her fingers didn't even meet her thumb on the other side. She slid her legs off the edge of the bed, hooking one around his, entrapping him in a quasi-embrace.

She licked her lips and remembered his earlier intimate kisses upon her own body. She had done this only a few times before and had disliked it immensely. However, with Severus, she suddenly felt the urge to wrap her lips around him and bring his passion to greater heights like she knew it would. She actually wanted to taste him. It surprised her and fueled her passion like she never thought it would. Slowly, she took him into her mouth, stretching her lips to accommodate him. Her tongue rolled over the ridge that separated the shaft from the head, and his hands instantly brought her motions to a halt.

"Tonight is supposed to be about you," he said, bringing his lips lower to meet her own.

She fell backwards onto the bed with his lips feverishly kissing her mouth, her chin, the line of jaw that reached up to her ear, and then finally the ear itself. He ran his tongue along the outer edge from the lobe around to the twisting path that disappeared inside the shell. Delicately, he tasted the skin and then breathed gently across it, sending shivers down her spine.

"Yesss," she heard a voice say, and then realized that voice was her own.

He held himself above her body on hands and knees, but this declaration of need prompted him into action. Lowering himself, he turned both of their bodies over in one swift move, sitting her on top, giving her all of the control.

His erection lay hot across his belly, waiting for what was to come, looking as though sooner would be better. She looked down at it nestled between her curls and his, feeling the hardness as the base of his shaft pressed up against her clitoris. Tilting her hips, she ground herself against him, forward and then back. Her eyes nearly rolled back in her head, savoring the direct contact this position afforded.

"Ah," he moaned in approval. "Do that again."

She did as she was told, and his hands rose to cup her breasts that hung between them. He cradled their heaviness, kneading them carefully, pressing his thumbs gently...but not too gently...over her nipples, worshipping them. He dragged a fingernail across the tip of one and felt the pressure increase down below.

The tension forced her hips down a little tighter, putting even more pressure on top of him. Her desire made him wet, more than ready for her. She threaded her fingers at his temples, combing the hair back from his face, and descended upon him, kissing him with such force that it caused both of them to moan into the other's mouth.

Breathing heavily between kisses, tongues found lips and lips meet teeth and teeth met whatever skin they could find. It was hard and needy, the both of them finding what they desired from each other. Their mouths mimicked the frantic movements that slowly built through the action of their bodies as they pressed and rubbed against each other. Losing all sense, they could hardly think what to do next as their bodies drove them to come to a single conclusion.

It was Severus who found the strength to pull back. "Hermione, I want you ... now." It was a command, and it was delivered quickly and in between harsh breaths. All she wanted to do was obey.

Reaching between their bodies, she pressed her hand between his erection and his stomach, easily raising it up and sliding down upon it, sinking slowly, savoring every inch of him as he stretched her wide and filled her deep.

"Ooooooh, gods...," she crooned above him. "Oh, yessssss."

She pulled up, ever so slowly, giving their bodies time to adjust to each other. Desire filled every crevice of her brain, and she couldn't see straight. No, this wasn't going to do. Sinking down on him suddenly, an act that made Severus groan and gasp simultaneously, she flattened against his body and forced him to turn on top of her.

"Severus," she whispered as his knees found purchase between her legs, "make love to me."

The request was so full of passion, so needful. It wasn't a demand. It was a plea. He knew she needed this to eradicate every last awful memory of the day, and he was going to do this for her.

Grabbing one of her ankles, he hooked it over his shoulder and surged forward. He penetrated deep, sheathing himself fully and then pushing into her more. She felt him all the way into her stomach and beyond just a little, as if he were asking her to open her heart and share her soul. Anything. She just wanted more. She needed him more than anything.

He turned his head and nibbled the inside of her calf, pulling out and pushing in, in a slow steady rhythm, teasing her, knowing she wanted more, yet holding back. She tried angling her hips to receive him deeper, to thrust onto him as he pushed into her, but he wouldn't allow it.

Growling in frustration, she forced him into action. "Damn it, Severus! Fuck me ... now!"

That's all it took. Sweet lovemaking turned into frantic coupling, and he let her leg fall beside him as he attacked her with his mouth and began battling with her tongue. He was nearly crushing her with his weight, but it only added to the excitement she felt as he pressed into her over and over, strangling the flow of blood in her veins except that which flowed between the connection their two bodies made.

The room was filled with the sounds of short gasps and sharp cries, both of them too occupied to say anything, saving their energy, concentrating on making this last as long as possible, building the tension as high as it would go. Words were no longer possible. Only their bodies spoke to each other as each stroked and caressed and fell into the other. It was sheer pleasure ... nothing had ever felt this good. Ever.

Coming close to the end, Severus snaked a hand between their bodies and commanded, "I want you to come ... when I tell you to."

His thumb circled between their tightly pressing bodies, moving faster as he pulled out, almost stopping when he pushed home, never relenting. Her cheeks were flushed a glorious red. She was almost there, almost ready ... oh, gods, she was going to ...

"Now, Hermione. Come ... now!" Severus shouted.

Suddenly, her body collapsed around his, drawing him deeper, convulsing around him, constricting him, letting him go, wrapping him in a grip of pure passion. He pushed into her a final time and let himself follow, falling into her, releasing inside of her just as she released around him.

Finally, their kisses slowed and the passion fell into a slow simmer ... and then, they collapsed into each other's embrace and that of a peaceful slumber.

A/N: What a way to end a chapter. No afterglow. Ah, well. I'll just let that sit with you all a while, and we'll deal with the after-issues next chapter.

So, Sunshine, did you like your Severus? Hmm... what do you think: keep him or toss him to another witch?