Anyone But Me

Chapter Eighty-Four

"Stop!"

The harsh command was followed without hesitation. She immediately dropped her trembling arm and pointed her wand to the floor. Her eyes closed and she prepared for the third lecture on how her stiff wrist was altering the spell's strength.

Draco sighed heavily in frustration and she listened to the clack of his shoes against stone as he crossed the few feet of empty space between them.

When the sounds of his approach stopped, she kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see the look of disappointment on his face. "I don't know what is wrong with me..."

It was a lie, of course. She knew the specific reason she couldn't relax and allow the fluidity needed to complete the motion correctly, much less prolong the time for her rushed searching. A second accidental romp through the cranky wizard's mind was highly probable if she accomplished her goal... And that was a particular horror show she didn't want to revisit. The tiny flashes as she searched for an adequate memory were sufficient.

"Let's try something different then... Starting stance."

She groaned her displeasure but did what she was told. Her arm raised from where it hung limply at her side and extended forward until her wand was pointed at an imaginary target. Once she was sure her form was perfect, she opened her eyes and stared at the spot he usually occupied.

"Keep your arm outstretched exactly like this or I will leave you to train with your little friends for a while." He instructed, using his index finger to lift her aim a few inches.

The new positioning put the slightest strain on her tricep indicating his definition of something different included corporal punishment. She risked glaring after him out of the corner of her eye when he moved behind her. If she didn't need to practice the practical application on a human mind she would have had no hesitation in telling him to fuck off...

"Think of it like kissing, pet." His voice was low as he stepped close enough for her to feel his body heat on her back but not touch her. "You can smash your lips together like depraved brutes..."

She felt his fingers brush the nape of her neck, right under where her slack ponytail sat. There was no warning before he slipped his fingers into the mass of tethered curls and clenched them in a fist. The modest tug that followed was to direct the tilting of her head into the pose he wanted, not cause her pain.

He kept his gaze on the tip of her wand, making sure she obeyed his direction to maintain the increasingly challenging arrangement he had purposely placed her in. When she was bent at an angle that allowed for him to lean over and claim her lips, he demonstrated his meaning ruthlessly.

Stiff, rushed, and wet- the inverted kiss was off-putting on its own but then his free hand snuck up and clawed at her breast through the crisp white fabric of her button-down. Hermione's response was automatic. A huff of discomfort was blown into her face as the elbow of her idle arm connected with his ribs and broke the awful incursion. Before he could notice her lapse, she quickly elevated her lowered wand back to the proper height.

Smirking down at her, he released the hold on her hair and continued on with his unorthodox lesson, "Or you can choose to be a bit more polished and go slow..."

Exhausted from overuse, the muscles in her shoulder and arm started to quiver in retaliation. She went to voice her aggravation over the unachievable task given to her but was distracted by the sensation of his silken lips on the skin of her exposed neck. Her complaints were quickly swallowed as her head rolled to the side to offer him better access.

He nipped at the tender flesh and earned himself a soft moan. Intent on making sure his lesson was understood, Draco sustained the delectable onslaught on her sensitive flesh until she was breathless from the effort to keep her eyes open and arm aloft. His palm settled on her stomach while his fingers began to fidget with the placket of her shirt.