Whew! This has been a bit of a whirlwind trip, eh? Anyhow, I know you're all excited to be done with this one for good, now that it has a proper ending, so I won't make this note too long. I chose to end The Man Behind The Mask on the morning after, with no more mention of the Marauders and Lucy, partly because I'm lazy, and partly because this story is really not about them… That said, if I get inspired, one of these days I might tack on an epilogue. That's not a guarantee, though, so definitely treat this chapter as if it were the last.

One thing to keep in mind for this LAST CHAPTER: it's pretty much all smut. I'm not sure that it's great smut, or anything, but our favorite Head Students are definitely getting down and dirty up in here, so if that bothers you… don't bother to read this bit.

Thanks to all of you guys for reading, and remember that nothing makes a writer happier than a review!

Cheers,

Lorraine

CHAPTER 16

Previously on TMBTM…

Lily laughed softly as James kissed the underside of her jaw, allowing him to slowly remove her underwear, and then his, eliminating the last barriers between them.

Thus rid of all clothing, Lily and James indulged in a few more moments of simply kissing and caressing, with James hovering over Lily on the couch. Neither of the Head Students could quite believe the situation they were in—James, of course, was still incredulous that the uncompromising Lily Evans was finally giving him a chance. And Lily was beginning to realize what a fool she had been to let herself wait this long to accept James for what he was.

And what he is, she thought, as his fingers skimmed down below her waist again, is a bloody good shag. The haze of lust in Lily's brain was such that she had to make a genuine effort to turn her head and meet James' gaze—partly this was because his face was buried in her neck, as he was licking at her pulse point. She grabbed his silky mop of hair to bring their mouths together, and then pulled back to give him one last searching look. Despite her earlier cavalier attitude, Lily was not one to take this situation lightly.

It seemed that James was of the same mind, because when his eyes met hers, there was nothing but solemnity—and desire, and love—in their depths. He swooped down once more for a quick kiss, and then pushed himself up just far enough for Lily to see his quirky half-smile. She returned it with a mischievous grin of her own, and raked her fingertips down his back and up again, finally nestling them in the hair at the back of his neck.

All traces of laughter had now left James' face, as he was using his full concentration not to fuck her silly then and there. Before he was tempted any further, he spoke in a low voice.

"Ready, love?"

She smiled and winked at him, "More than." She leaned up for a quick nibble on his earlobe, taking the opportunity to whisper to him, "Make love to me, James."

"Now there is an instruction I can accomplish promptly," he said cheekily.

Using one arm to prop himself up (to prevent Lily's getting crushed), James softly trailed his free hand down Lily's smooth body once again. He brushed past her breast—tweaking a nipple and watching as Lily arched her back—then continued over her stomach, drawing a couple of lazy circles around her belly button. From there, he quickly dipped his middle finger down to her cunt again, finding her as dripping and ready as she had been a few minutes previous. Satisfied with the results of his search, James aligned his swollen hardness at Lily's entrance.

Looking into the redhead's eyes—he noticed that the green orbs were dominated by her pupils, dilated with pleasure—James slowly pushed into Lily, until their hipbones touched. Lily, who had begun moaning at the slightest contact, was now fairly panting with desire. James, still propped up by one hand, used the other to touch her hip, and he thus directed her to rotate her lower half to the rhythm he had established. Once Lily got the idea, she became quite engrossed in her task, thrusting her hips to meet James' on each of his strokes.

The Head Boy hissed and growled at the pleasurable contact, and reached to squeeze one of Lily's breasts. At this she gave a keening whine, and her inner muscles spasmed around James' rock hard cock, signaling that she was close to her climax. James grinned, again skimming his hand down Lily's body to rub at her throbbing clit. She fairly screamed at this, arching her back and using her own hands to pinch her nipples, while still managing to keep up with the pace James was setting.

The sight of Lily's earnest gyration and attention to her own breasts, along with the frenzied pulse of her warm, wet core, was enough to send James right towards his own climax. Groaning harshly, he leaned his head down to kiss the crook of Lily's neck, so that her hands quickly switched from fondling her breasts to raking through his hair.

"Fuck, Lil, I'm so close…" he whispered into her shoulder, trying to steadily roll his fingers over her clit even as his hard length slammed in and out of her pussy.

Lily herself was far beyond intelligible sentences, and so she simply moaned James' name into his ear. But it was only a matter of seconds before "James" turned into "Jaaa—Ahhh!" as her second orgasm of the night washed over her, coming in so many waves that her entire body was quivering when James cried out and spilled himself inside her.

Spent, James used both hands to prop himself above Lily, and licked his way from her pulse point up to her ear, only to speak in a low voice, "That was most definitely worth the wait." She hummed in agreement, and felt him smile against her as he nipped her earlobe, finally moving his lips to hers in a long wet kiss.

He rolled off of her to lay sideways with his back to the back of the couch, and pulled her to meet him, so that her chest was smushed against his. He reached down to her thigh and pulled it up, so that her leg was draped over his. He then moved his hand to her face, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear, and met her eyes, which were blinking sleepily at him.

She somehow found the energy to lean forward and kiss his jaw, then settling her head under his chin, so that her breath tickled his chest when she yawned sleepily. Just before she passed out completely, James heard her murmur into his shoulder: "I love you."

Grinning at the fact that—against all odds—she had been the one to say it first (as well as the other celebration-worthy events that took place that evening), James grabbed his wand from the end-table and summoned a blanket to cover them, and only then did he allow himself to fall into the most blissful night's sleep he had ever experienced.

Lily woke first in the morning, fully remembering the events of the night before. She gazed upon James' sleeping face, which was completely peaceful in slumber, though she could swear there was still a hint of mischief in the twitch of his lips. Smiling, she brought her hand up to his cheek and leaned forward to kiss him awake.

Instantly at attention, James' eyes flew open, momentarily confused. He had lost his glasses in their romp last night, and as a result his surroundings were somewhat blurred. The face in front of him was clearly visible, though, as was the fiery mane surrounding it. In the split second it took for James to remember what had happened, Lily's hands had fisted into his hair, and he grinned against her lips, mumbling, "Well, good morning to you, too, love."

She chuckled lightly as he grasped her waist and pulled her naked form towards his, effectively melding their bodies. His hand slowly roved down Lily's body, soon coming to rest on her generous arse—which he squeezed, causing her to squeak and pull away slightly, narrowing her eyes at him. He only winked and darted forward to kiss her nose before Lily pushed him back into the couch cushions, making slightly more room between them.

Lily removed James' hand from her bottom and sat up, facing away from him. She yawned, stretching her arms above her head while James scooched towards her and snaked an arm around her waist. She smiled, and then laughed aloud when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror across the room. She turned towards James, who was gazing at her with his head propped on the sofa's arm rest.

Lily gestured to her frizzy, tangled hair and smudged makeup. "So, you really want to wake up to this every morning?" she asked him with an eyebrow raised.

"Fuck yeah!" James rejoined, pulling her face down and kissing her thoroughly. He leaned back, eyes closed, and took a deep breath. "Correction," he said, smiling and opening his eyes. "I want to wake up to thatevery morning." He waggled his eyebrows at Lily, leaning up to meet her lips again. She slapped him on the arm and returned the kiss warmly, in what was soon to become an Evans/Potter morning ritual.

THE END