Senses

Chapter 31

Severus sighed heavily running the pain balm over his chest. It didn't actually help in the healing process but it did numb the pain for a few hours. A small movement in the corner of his eye raised his head from his present task and his brows furrowed.

"Yes?" His tone was sharper than he intended; not liking the fact that Granger had almost managed to sneak up on him. That in combination with his present state of undress made his teeth grind.

"Your back..." Hermione curled her bottom lip in nervously before taking a small step into the bathroom, "Let me help you?"

Severus resisted with all his power not to yell at her to get out. He was sure he was going soft at this point, becoming too comfortable in her presence. Instead, he shifted his stance at the sink and pushed the small jar towards the edge in offering. His original plan to just let it go turning into a curiosity over why he was allowing her to touch him at all. Of course it wasn't the first time but it definitely felt different.

Hermione gave him a small nervous smile from the corner of her eyes before taking a small bit of balm onto her fingers. It felt odd to her but she assumed it was the magic therein. Another small bite to her bottom lip raised her eyes as she waited for him to turn away. There was a moment between them, she was sure, she couldn't explain it but he almost looked...sad?

A slow intake of breath cleared her thoughts and she raised her hand up to the top of his shoulder. Was he always so tall? Her fingers jumped slightly when she touched his torn skin, fearful of touching him too firmly. When he didn't so much as flinch, she pressed her fingers flat. Her eyes flicked over to the mirror that just barely showed the side of his face through his hair and as she worked her fingers over the ridged line she found herself caught up in the feeling of his skin beneath her fingers, working her way down silently, methodically.

Her eyes closed on instinct. Having gone without her sight for so long it was almost cathartic to allow her other senses to take over. His smell was unhindered by the soft mint of the balm. His skin was warm, rough yet smooth. The rigid line felt like fire. How could he not feel its heat?

Without her knowledge, her other hand rose to gently explore the definition over his shoulder blades, the scars that stretched over the taut skin like macabre spider webs. Her brows twitched as her face moved closer, her lips lightly trailing along the line, her breath heating the already warmed flesh. When her cheek pressed into his ribs, she could hear his heart beating wildly, his breaths tight and slow. When her fingers bumped against the leather of his belt she felt every muscle in his back tense—sharply snapping her back into reality.

Her eyes fluttered open as he turned but the apology that had jumped to the tip of her tongue stalled when his hand came up to cradle her jaw. For a moment—a fleeting second—she believed that he was going to kiss her, something she found— rather surprisingly—she had no objections to.

"How are your eyes?" Severus could see the flush over her cheeks, the dark dilation of her pupils. She was aroused but the why he could not discern. As she raised her eyes higher, he could see the blood that he had drained away slowly creeping back in around the edges.

"They're... fine..." A slow breath breathed in his taste and she hadn't even known she'd moved forward until he was pulling back.

"No pain?" Something was ticking at the back of his mind, something he was desperately trying to piece together.

"No..." Hermione licked her bottom lip, raising her fingertips to run over the dip of his waist.