Book 1: Of Thorns & Roses

28: Paradise

A/N: All aboard the smut train hehe (;

Months had passed and the dreams relentlessly hackled my mind, but they had never reached the caliber like it had months prior. The evil forces within my dreams never realized I was there, watching them.

I couldn't help but wake up in cold sweats and a raw throat from my screams that echoed throughout the room. Then, as always, I would feel him against me, grasping my body like I was the only thing keeping him grounded and him me.

His whispers of sweet-nothings soothed my breaking spirit and even more so when he trailed kisses down my body and proceeded to do much more.

"How can I make you feel better, love?" he whispered one morning as spring was just beginning to show itself. The sun peeked its glorious rays through the gaps between the thick curtains, and birds chirped their song of a new morning.

The last of sleep left my eyes as I turned to face him, "You ask this every morning, and I give you the same answer every time," I softly kissed the tip of his nose, then his lips, "but I don't mind."

The scar that marked me as Voldemort's prey still tainted my body, showing itself as Draco slowly unbuttoned the black dress shirt he'd been letting me wear to bed. "Who knew you'd look so good in my clothes," he said, a smirk never leaving his face.

"Huh, I wonder what you'd look like in one of my bras," I pursed my lips to keep from laughing as he playfully shoved me off the bed.

His dancing eyes didn't leave mine as he murmured, "I'll meet you in the shower to give you your punishment for that sly remark."

My stomach twisted in divine yearning, his words clinging to the air as he moved for the bathroom. Holy Merlin, what had I gotten myself into.

The sound of the shower rippled through my senses as I rose and moved towards the now closed door, begging me to open it.

With every breath I took, the world around me twisted to loosen the knot in my chest. To forget the dreams, the threats, the task that loomed over the both of us now.

I leisurely took the minimal amount of clothing off my small frame, knowing those ice grey eyes were watching, waiting. I could feel him clinging to me from across the small bathroom, craving for our bodies to be intertwined once more.

"If you don't hurry up, Grier, I swear to Merlin you'll pay," he said hoarsely and a laugh escaped my flushed lips.

I slowly turned to give him a glimpse of every part of my body. In the ungodly amount of times we had seen each other naked, I still relished in his pressing stare and the clouded, admiring look in his eyes.

Slipping into the shower, we faced each other, the steam rolling off each divet and curve, mingling with our harsh breath as we once again worshipped each other.

"You never cease to amaze me," he murmured as his lips crashed against mine, sending rushes of elation through my blood.

Our bodies worked together in perfect unison, moving for the other in attempts to unravel every sense. His lips swept down my neck as my fingers tenderly brushed through his hair, pulling him closer.

He slowly pulled away, turning my body so my back was against his chest. Tingles of ravishing rhapsodies coursed through my veins like a symphony of an unyielding elation as his fingers lightly wrapped around my slender neck.

"Are you ready, love?" He whispered into my cheek, no doubt a smirk painted across his striking face.

A flirtatious challenge was my reply, "Aren't I always?"

A thundering sense of euphoria wrapped around me as we connected once more. I couldn't contain the cries and whimpers that escaped me as his powerful body pumped into my own.

His hand was still lightly clenched around my neck as his other forced my body to obey when his fingers wrapped around my long hair, arching my body at a new angle. A better angle.

Cries of bliss were released from the both of us, but his pace never faltered. His lips traveled down my spine, my senses ceasing to acknowledge anything but him.

No matter what happened, it would always be him.

In the middle of my "punishment," his voice echoed through my consciousness

I love you like no one I've ever known.

It was like nothing else existed. This intimate moment only further solidified what we already knew and cherished, but guarded from others. It was a forbidden love that we held in our grasp.

And I love you Draco... to the ends of the earth.

Our walls were slowly crumbling as we climbed to the blossoming climax. His grunts and murmurs of administration. My moans and shouts of his name. We could never be broken. Not by his father, the Dark Lord, not by anyone.

We were infinite as we crashed into that gleaming pool of paradise.