Senses

Chapter 21

Severus frowned over the top of his sandwich. The girl had stopped eating, barely having finished half of her soup and only two bites of her grilled cheese. It was nowhere near what she should be eating but her not so subtle squirming seemed to be delaying her intake. She hadn't spoken much more since he'd put the food in front of her, taking her task with an extreme amount of concentration for something so simple.

"Will you be still?" Severus' tone was sharper than he intended and the small jump it elicited only made his irritation grow.

"It itches..."

"What?"

"My...my..." Hermione couldn't bring herself to say though many vulgar words did fill her mind she could never bring herself to repeat them. She ducked her head down curling up just a bit more while her fingers tore into the skin between her legs. It hurt but also felt oddly relieving, forcing her to continue even when she felt the tray that had been hiding her activity lift away.

She made a small face when the blanket was ripped back. Her knees snapped together as her hand slipped from beneath her pajama bottoms. She didn't know why but the normally calm man seemed extremely agitated by something and she didn't want to be on the receiving end of his wrath.

"I'm sorry...I-"

"Be still." Severus grabbed her hand that had blood at the fingertips before she had a chance to stain her clothes. It was taking all of his willpower to control his anger. The stress of the surgery and the trepidation over her mental state were grating on his already frayed nerves, "What did you do?"

"I was...just scratching..." Hermione wanted nothing more than to curl away from the man's growing aura. She didn't want to upset him, that had been why she'd try to eat instead of scratch unaware that she'd even stopped eating to complete her task.

Severus snarled slightly before releasing her completely, "Lie down."

Hermione let out a slow shuddering breath as she slipped herself down the pillows to lay more flat. Her brain was telling her not to be afraid, but other memories were trying to push through, called forth by her desire to identify his voice. To give him a name, a proper name. Her stomach fluttered when she felt his fingers slip into the band around her waist, releasing an entire flock of butterflies. Her hips came up as he pulled down, bringing the soft fabric to her knees before repeating the process once more with her underwear.

"You must have had a reaction to the oils in the bathwater last night...you've...gotten an infection." His hand caught her wrist as she came down to scratch at the red and flaking skin, his other having gently parted her folds, "Don't touch it. You'll make it spread."

A soft whine left her throat and her chin raised towards the ceiling as she forced herself to try and think of anything else. Why did this situation feel completely normal yet exceptionally violating at the same time? Why would her brain not leave her alone? He wasn't hurting her, yet still, she wanted him to. She wanted to feel his fingers, not just over her skin but inside her as well. The very thought made her entire body burn.

"Please..." Her word was a cross between a breathy sigh and a wanton plea that she barely recognized as her own, "It...itches..."

"I'll get you something for it...just...wait." Severus could feel his head growing a tad soft from the womanly-like noise that had passed her lips. He knew very well that she was much too young to have created such a lustful sound yet his body and his mind were on two separate playing fields. A sharp breath collected his logical mind and snapped his control tightly back in place.