Matters of Blood and Connection

Chapter 22: Time To Waste

He could hear the noise faintly at first, and then it got louder. Draco groaned and threw a pillow over his head, mumbling something. Something brushed his skin suddenly and he stiffened. Her hand was cold against his back but he didn't mind it. Slowly he turned over and touched her cheek.

"Could you make any more noise, woman? I was trying to sleep."

"Sorry," she whispered, crawling beside him. "I was looking for something. I can't sleep."

"No?" he asked, surprised. He wrapped his arms around her and snuggled closer, brushing his lips against her ear softly. "Is there any way I can tire you out?"

Ginny considered this for a moment before grinned and brushing her lips against his. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. She wiggled closer to him and pressed her mouth to his collarbone briefly. He groaned softly and tangled his long fingers in her red hair.

"I just want to lie here," she said softly.

"What were you looking for?"

"A notebook. I like to write when I can't sleep." Ginny smiled and sat up, glancing around. "I know I brought it in here but I can't find it." She hissed under her breath and looked at him. "Why are you making that face?"

"You look adorable when you're angry," he said with a smirk. "It's just something I've noticed." He shrugged.

"You're just scary."

"When I'm angry?"

"In general."

"This is terribly true." He grinned and wrapped his arms around her. "How did you ever manage to stay so calm with me around?" His lips brushed her earlobe gently.

She pretended to think. "Oh, I don't know."

Her lips settled against his mouth and she kissed him slowly, her hands twitching as they fell on his knees, and she moved closer. She wrapped her arms around his back and squeezed tightly, her eyes fluttering shut as he moaned and deepened the kiss gradually, his hands pulling softly at her top.

She smirked and placed her hands on his, bringing them close to her chest, then stopped inches away. He stared at her, his eyes cloudy, lips pursed.

"I think we should take a break," she said.

His heart sank.

"But why? Things are going so well."

She eyed him then shook her head. "I'm not talking about us, Draco."

"Oh," he said calmly. Then his face changed. "You can't be serious."

Ginny blinked at him for a moment before nodding. The expression on his face was priceless, as well as painful, she mused silently as she stared at him. He looked slightly like a child who had been denied candy, and in his case, it was nearly a similar situation. He had been denied her, after all.

"But how can you-?"

"We're going to be married soon enough," she said with a smirk. "Then we'll get to have all the sex we want without anyone having heart failure."

"You're cutting me off," he said lightly. "Is that what's happening here?"

"Yes."

He groaned and lay back against the pillows, his hands behind his head, his eyes shut gently as he sighed. He could feel her move beside him, and he let a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

"You don't think this is the least bit torturous to me, do you?" He asked, eyeing her tentatively. "What are we supposed to do in the meantime?"

"There are other things," she muttered, tossing her long hair over her shoulder and crawling on top of him, her legs on either wide of his body. "You just have to promise me that you won't go too far."

Another smirk pulled at Draco's mouth as he placed his hands on her hips, his fingers stroking the skin lightly. He watched her face closely, knowing she was torn between her decision to give up sex for a few months, or to just throw the thought out of her mind and have her way with him.

He hoped it was the latter.

His breathing hitched slightly when she bent her head to kiss him softly. The blood in his veins seemed to rush all the way to the one particular spot in his body and he growled audibly, tangling his fingers roughly in her hair, pulling her mouth against his as much as he could, slipping his tongue passed her teeth before she could react.

He felt her blink, her lashes sweeping across his, and he put a hand on her chin and pushed her away. He didn't look at her for the longest time. The silence was dragging on, becoming too much.

"Fuck," he breathed after a moment. "I'm sorry."

"This isn't going to be easy," she agreed. "I thought that maybe if we didn't touch each other much I'd be less compelled to..."

His mouth descended onto hers hungrily, his mouth savage as it slid against her face, jaw, and down her body when he knocked her back onto the mattress. She was very still while this happened, possibly stunned, and he almost appreciated that from her.

Then he caught the sight in her eyes and he drew back. Cautiously, he touched her cheek with his hand and stroked her jaw with his thumb. He closed his eyes and shook his head gently.

"I didn't," he whispered hoarsely, "I didn't mean to frighten you."

Silence.

"Please," he began again, sitting away from her, his hands in his hair as he stared down. "You know I would never hurt you, don't you? I could never hurt anything I care so much about, that I love."

"I don't want you to be the same as them," she said quietly.

"I'm not like the others," he explained. "I thought you knew that. Isn't that why we're getting married? Because I'm different from them?"

Ginny sat up slowly, her eyes at a downcast, her lips forming a thin line. She pushed her hair from her face and spoke softly.

"You don't get it."

It wasn't a question.

She didn't look at him as she gathered her books, and the next thing he knew, she was gone. Something flooded through him and he grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be a glass statue his mother gave him, and threw it across the room.

* * *

Fury, humiliation, and tremors wrecked her body as she walked away from the Slytherin common room. She barely noticed where she was headed until she ended up near the Great Hall.

"You shouldn't be wandering alone tonight," a voice said.

Ginny jumped, wiped her eyes and turned around. He was standing a few feet from her, arms crossed over his chest.

"You look like hell, Weasley. What happened?"

Ginny shot him what she hoped was a glare and sniffled again. She watched him walk toward her and he frowned slightly.

"Anything I can do to help?"

Suddenly, his hand touched her cheek and she exhaled, her body stiff with exhaustion and shock. His eyes searched hers before he leaned down to brush his lips against hers. She gasped, her hands going to his chest to push him back, but stopped halfway there.

Something about his lips felt good, and it made her eager to explore further. With her hands wrapped around his broad shoulders, Ginny kissed Blaise back.