Castle Guard by greenflowerpot

Chapter 4

- NOT MY STORY!! ALL CREDITS TO @greenflowerpot ON A03!!
-
Malfoy's entire body froze at the contact.

Hermione realized as soon as her lips touched his that she had no idea what she was doing—she had not thought far enough in advance to know what her plan was after this point.

For a moment, she thought she'd ruined everything. But then something in Malfoy seemed to snap.

He pressed forward so suddenly that Hermione would have lost her balance, except his arms were now around her, pressing her against him. One of his hands gripped the back of her head and the other pulled her in urgently by the waist. His mouth was warm and demanding, the hunger evident in his every movement. It was obvious that he, unlike Hermione, knew exactly what he was doing. With an impatient, practiced nudge of his head Malfoy tilted her face to the side to give himself a better angle. He opened his mouth to take her bottom lip between his teeth, kissed her with desperate, heat-blurred precision.

Hermione pulled back, gasping.

"Oh—my god," she stammered, her heart pounding with adrenaline and... something else. Something hot curled insistently in her lower stomach. She brought a shaking hand to her lips.

Malfoy's chest was heaving, his cheeks flushed and his mouth slightly swollen. He stared at her hungrily through half-lidded eyes, then moved forward again to close the distance between them. Hermione, confused and overwhelmed, stumbled backwards in alarm.

That made him freeze. He took a horrified step back.

"Fuck," he breathed, voice hoarse. She had never heard him swear before. "I'm sorry—are you alright? I'm so sorry—"

Hermione had been the one to start the kiss. She knew that. But she'd had no idea what to expect, had certainly been unprepared for the intensity of Malfoy's response. It seemed to point to things well beyond the chaste pecks she had envisioned as kisses, to a carnal appetite that she was entirely unfamiliar with.

Hermione panicked. She apparated back to the castle, leaving Malfoy behind.

── ✵ ──

A tumult of feelings swelled inside her, all of them foreign and confusing. Hermione sat, frozen, by the door. She heard Malfoy return to his room—listened to the sounds of him pacing back and forth for almost half an hour before he knocked softly on the door connecting their rooms.

Hermione opened it. Malfoy was standing a few paces back, as if to show her he would not lunge forward.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a low, even voice.

"It's my fault," Hermione said, wringing her hands. "I'm—I'm the one that kissed you." 

"No," Malfoy said firmly. He looked shaken but seemed immensely relieved that she was talking to him. "You—that was your first kiss. I shouldn't have—I lost my head. I'm older than you and experienced enough to be able to control myself."

Hermione just looked up at him nervously, not knowing what to say. But his eyes were gentle and she felt her heart rate slow.

"Did I scare you?" he asked softly.

Hermione looked at her feet.

"Only a little. I just didn't know that it was going to be like that."

"It's not always like that. I'm sorry."

He paused and sighed.

"I think I should—head back to West Haven. I can arrange for a replacement guard."

"What? No!"

Malfoy's mouth set in a tight line but he didn't argue. He seemed to want to let her make the decision. Hermione fiddled nervously with her sleeve. She had been turning an idea around in her head, but now that it was time to ask him she felt nervous.