AN:
Life hasn't gotten any easier. I have no internet, but I promise I'm still hard at work.

Big things are coming *evil smirk*... I just need my betas to look it all over and have wifi so that I can share.

Thank you for your patience.

Favourites, Reviews, Follows, thank you so much. Special thanks to Kittenshift17(This woman has a Charmione that keeps me awake at night, that I have yet to review properly, pending on wifi), ameedeaSeshat, moreremusplease. All comments are wonderful, I really love them all -I really fucking do-, but sometimes some reviews have impeccable timing. Your comments were life sustaining and if this whole story wasn't already dedicated to Sable, I would dedicate this chapter to you.

Also big thanks to Worthfull1 for being my beta for this chapter. As always, all remaining mistakes are mine alone. I am a stubborn mule.

Sable, as always, this is for you.

SW

...

Sex with Hermione Granger was unlike anything else he had ever experienced.

Everything, from the way she arched her back to the way she uttered a broken "Remus—" in pleasure, made his very soul soar.

It was a rediscovery of his senses. Like a child who is just learning about textures and all that is new and possible in the world. Remus felt reborn. Every touch was new, every sensation a widening of the mind.

The werewolf had attempted to take things slow. He wanted his mate to know, to feel, that she was loved and appreciated beyond any physical attraction. Remus had postponed any… untoward activities as much as he could, wanting to leave no doubt as to what his real intentions were.

Hermione, however, didn't have the patience for Remus's antics, when it came to the physical stage of their relationship. She wouldn't be denied.

The sexual tension only grew between them as the weeks went by. His mate grew insecure and angry at times, not understanding what was keeping him away. Of course, she wasn't the smartest witch of her age for nothing.

Once the witch stopped looking in and started looking out, she realised she wasn't the problem at all.

Remus had grown quite adept at subtly dodging her advances. He flirted back, dropped an innuendo or two but always managed to pull back at the last minute. It wasn't a lack of physical attraction, that was for sure. But he had one chance, one shot to get this right with his mate and should he fail...

Suffice to say, a frustrated Hermione Granger only made for a determined Hermione Granger. And there was no force in the world that could stop that.

He had fallen like an unsuspecting prey. Remus had been reading when she knocked on his door. He was taking a second look at the diary, now that he'd cleared up all that pertained to the clauses. Every single entry was a wealth of information, a treasure in itself and it challenged everything he thought he knew about werewolves. This was his main defense for having been so completely absorbed into his reading, so much so that he didn't catch the glimpse of mischief in her eyes when he opened the door.

This was how, as he finished reading the last couple of paragraphs of an entry, he attempted to remove Hermione's coat without tearing his eyes from the page. He succeeded. However, it blindsided him to what was coming.

Not that anything could have prepared him for a fully naked Hermione, sitting on his couch.

"I am done waiting," she said, her voice neutral.

Remus was just finishing one last paragraph, and was preparing to apologise, thinking she meant she was done waiting for his attention. When he finally looked up he choked on air, as he tried to compose himself. In the end, it was futile. She opened her legs for him, giving him a full view of the crux of her body and he was lost.

The scent of her desire hit him like a full speed train and then he thought no more.

He was on her faster than he'd ever remembered moving. The wolf was dangerously close to the surface, acknowledging his mate's need for him.

"That was was very sneaky of you, Hermione," he said, his voice all gravel. Remus's hand went around her throat, lifting her face towards him.

There were no clothes on the floor, her wand presumably in the pocket of the garment hung by the door. She had come here wearing nothing but the coat he had had such trouble removing. Remus felt feverish just at the thought.

"Figured if I let you take charge, I would be very frustrated for the foreseeable future. I'm a hands on kind of woman, Remus, you know that," she whispered as ran her hands over his thighs, latching onto him, hard, over his trousers. The wicked smile with which she said this, made his cock twitch in her hand, making a self-satisfied glint grow in her eyes.

And by Merlin was she delicious.

Being inside her gave new meaning to pleasure. The intimate contact made his nerves sing and his tongue beg for a patch of skin to taste. Their first time together was desperate and perfect. They'd spend the entire night trying to outdo themselves, ever the overachievers.

It was an interesting change of pace. Remus had never been in a serious relationship before, let alone a public one. Hermione Granger was not ashamed of being seen dining with a werewolf, dancing with a werewolf or walking holding the hand of a werewolf.

She had been, however, worried about the Weasleys.

Remus' own insecurities reared their ugly faces, making him think she'd been hesitating on letting them know she was dating an older man who also happened to have been her Professor at one point.

All sorts of thoughts crossed his mind. Remus would have been okay if she had decided to leave their relationship in the dark, content to have her. Why did she have to make it public, then, if she was hesitant to make it public for everyone to know?

It didn't take long for her to notice that Remus went to painful extremes at work to keep their conversations neutral, void of any hint that their relationship might extend beyond that of coworkers.

She'd confessed that her only fear was that Molly would hate her, now that Fred had his memories back. Convinced the matriarch would flay her upon learning she had broken her baby's heart, Hermione had subtly avoided going out anywhere the Weasleys might see them together, which just happened to be most of magical Britain.

"Hermione, you do know that Molly has no idea that you even had a relationship with Fred, don't you?" Remus asked, calmly.

"But surely she must have noticed something was wrong? I would never ask Fred to lie to his mother, so he must have told her something. Now she hates me, I know it! I'll be excommunicated and they'll all hate me and ignore me like they did Percy and I'll spend the rest of my life alone on Christmas and my birthday. Poor Harry and Ron will have to live like the children of a divorced family and I'll only get to see them on my birthday and eventually not at all because they'll be busy with their own families which they'll take to Sunday dinners at the Burrow and I'll die alone with no redheads to mourn my passing!" she said with a single breath, tears in her eyes. Halfway through her voice had gone to a pitch Remus was sure he could only hear because he was a werewolf.

Remus had to swallow a laugh. Even after all the years of knowing her, he had no idea she could be so dramatic.

"Love, even if they do know, Fred would never allow them to excommunicate you. You know this," he said, appeasingly.

"I know, it's just… Molly has been known to be irrational when it comes to hearing unflattering news about me," she replied, timidly.

"The rest of the Weasleys would never give you up. Harry would never give you up," Remus said reassuringly."And even if they somehow got hit in the head by too many bludgers and opted to stop talking to you, for some idiotic reason or another, as long as I'm alive, you'll never be alone," he said, half-jokingly but suddenly all seriousness.

They had kissed then. Her with so much gratitude and him with such devotion it took their breath away.

The push and pull had started that very day. Her mission to break his resolve only beginning.

After that first night, though, it was like the breaking of a dam. There was absolutely no need for further coercion on her part, but she kept devising devious plans to make him completely helpless to refuse her.

Hermione was insatiable.

She liked to tease the wolf, challenge his authority. It usually ended with him just going harder on her, which he suspected was her intention from the beginning. She certainly knew how to provoke him.

She had devised a spell that was particularly… perverse. It never failed to rile up the wolf, or the man for that matter.

Not a week ago she'd made use of it during Sunday dinner, the very one she'd been afraid to be banned from.

They were all eating, everyone chatting loudly as the food all but evaporated before their eyes. Hermione was sitting in front of him, on the other side of the table. Arthur was asking her to explain the nature of a paper clip, and Remus had made the mistake of looking up and laughing at the exchange.

His punishment came swiftly and with no clemency. Not a minute later he felt the ghost of a hand in his thigh, going ever higher. Remus could see Hermione had both her hands on the table, on sight, but she didn't need her actual hands when she could make his nerves feel what she wanted with her thoughts alone.

The clever little witch had invented a spell that could turn thought into real sensorial experiences. She hadn't told a soul about it, knowing that such a spell could be used for torture or other horrible ends.

Remus himself could call the uses she gave the spell as torture too, but Merlin, what sweet torture.

Hermione sat there with a straight face, talking completely calm with Arthur, just as she had entirely inappropriate and filthy thoughts. Remus had to grab the table to keep his hands from looking for the body that he could feel was grinding into him, though he could not see it or touch it.

The wolf was trying to work out why his senses were in overdrive and in so much pleasure when nothing seemed to be causing it.

Remus's knee hit the table when the sensation suddenly changed and he could feel a tongue, going through the entire length of his cock. It felt so good. Hermione had chanced a glance at him then, her face all tranquillity, but her eyes… her eyes were all fire.

Out of nowhere he felt a hard suck on the tip of his cock, just the way he liked it. Jolted into movement, Remus had to scramble for the spoon and grab a big spoonful of pie and brought it to his mouth. He tried to pretend that the low grumbled moan he let out, had everything to do with food and nothing to do with the vixen sitting opposite of him. The whole table was looking at him strangely, as everyone was still on the savory course of dinner.

"I'm sorry, Molly. I just couldn't help myself," was all he could say for himself, seeing as he was the first to dive into the pie. Molly looked pleased, thinking her cooking had made tranquil Remus Lupin behave like a savage.

"That's alright, Remus," the witch said, looking very self-satisfied. "I've seen Ron do much worse in this very dinner table."

The redhead in question tried to protest, but his mouth was so full of food he was going to prove her right should he attempt to say a word. Ron had to be satisfied with half a growl in objection, and scowled during the rest of the meal.

Emergency averted, Remus took a moment to shoot a warning glance at his witch, attempting to dissuade her of any further tricks as that. He earned himself another suck, making him close his eyes with such force he saw black spots once he opened them again.

Oh, you're going to get it when we get home, he thought.

And so she had.

Not long after, Remus had chanced making up an excuse to leave early, rushing the witch to follow him. He waited for het at the Apparition point and no sooner of her reaching him, he apparated them away.

Immediately after closing the door behind him, the wolf had made certain to leave no doubt as to who was in charge. Remus had picked her up and flattened her against the closest wall. His mouth was on hers before any full thought could be formed, devouring her. Her legs wrapped themselves around his waist, grinding herself against him, desperate for friction.

Lifting a hand, Remus wandlessly vanished her clothes but kept his own. Hermione whined at being unable to touch his skin directly but was silenced when Remus grabbed both her hands and held them above her head. With his other hand, he undid his trousers and freed his cock.

The same hand worked its way between Hermione's legs, finding her wet, inviting glory. His thumb found her clit and a single finger went inside her. Between the coordinated movements of both fingers, he had Hermione moaning soon after and asking for more. Remus obliged her.

"Yesss," she hissed.

A second finger followed and then a third, her moans and cursing fueling Remus's desire. Every so often Hermione would complain about a change of pace, the endless teasing driving her insane and her nerves into overdrive.

"Fuck, Remus, please…" she would beg.

After what seemed like hours, Remus finally brought her over the edge, making her cry out his name, which had to be his new favourite sound in the world. But he wasn't anywhere near done with her.

He didn't give her room to breathe before he was entering her at a painfully slow speed. Sensitive as she was, Hermione managed to dislodge her hands from his grip and pulled at the hair on the back of his neck, hard.

"Fuck," he moaned.

Remus was halfway gone, as it was, but he wasn't going to let her off that easily. She would learn her lesson eventually. Teasing had a price.

Securing her in his arms he pulled her frame from the wall and started bouncing her off of him while standing. The position and the sheer force of gravity allowed his cock to reach deeper into her, making her cry out every time she fell onto him.

"Ohh, ohh, you feel so good, Remus," she whispered. "So good."

She was trying to make him come, the little wench. She knew the power her words had on him, and she would have succeeded if it weren't for his single-mindedness in punishing her for yet a while longer.

"Remus, please," she begged but to no avail.

"You'll have to beg a lot sweeter and a lot longer before you get what you want, my love," he growled.

Remus pulled out of her and threw her over the couch. He was rewarded with a frustrated cry from the loss. Hermione needn't have worried, he was just as eager to be inside her again, but before that, he would have his fill of her.

His mouth was on her before she could complain much longer, and the assault was so swift, so forceful, that Hermione was crying out again in no time. One of his hands was on her breasts, the other partnering up with his tongue. Her orgasm hit like a wave that just kept rolling and he remained there while she tried to ride it out.

But he didn't stop.

"Remus, please, I can't…" a cry of pleasure and torture escaped her. "I can't take this much longer.

But he didn't move or stop until she had come again a few minutes later.

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, oh fuck, Remus!" Hermione cried.

He retreated in triumph, licking his fingers while she watched. Remus was merciful and gave her an entire minute to recover before entering her again.

Hermione almost complained, before the full pleasure of being filled after the treatment of his tongue hit her, and silenced her.

"Come on, love, one last time," he prompted her.

Her hand immediately descended, two fingers going around his cock, wetting themselves where they were joined, before finding their way to her clit. Hermione was almost as merciless with herself as he had been.

"Come on baby, fuck, I'm almost there," he told her. Her walls clenching around him, making blind with pleasure.

"Remus!"

"Fuck, Hermione!"

They both collapsed on the couch, exhausted but happy and very much satisfied.

"Maybe that will teach you not to tease the wolf," he said quietly, secretly out of breath, not that he would admit it.

"You think that was a deterrent?" Hermione laughed out.

"You're insatiable, aren't you?" How he could properly pronounce words with such a big smile on his face, Remus didn't know.

"When it comes to you, I certainly am," she replied easily.

"Merlin, I love you," he whispered as he closed his eyes and brought her closer to him.

There was silence for a moment and suddenly Remus realised what had stumbled out of his mouth. It was true, of course, it had been for some time now, but he didn't think she was ready to hear it.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, no, please don't leave me, was all he could think.

Remus was so busy panicking in his mind that he didn't see Hermione reach out for his face until her hand was on his cheek and he was looking straight into her eyes.

"You do?" she asked doubtfully.

"Of course, I do. You must know that by now," he replied as if it were obvious. And it should have been.

How could he not love her?

"I love you too, you know?" she said.

And in that instant, his world was complete. Remus didn't think his heart could feel fuller or more satisfied than it did then.

She loved him. Hermione Granger loved him. His mate loved him.

Elation.

He could only describe what he was feeling as elation. It was almost like he was on some drug or another. This had to be the biggest high he had ever experienced. The antithesis of his transformations. It cured every ailment, every hurt of his soul.

Everything could wait. Anything in the world could be paused but for the love he felt for this woman.

He could feel how the smile on his face distorted his features. The adoring way she looked at him then almost made his chest hurt.

James had been right. There was nothing quite like being on the receiving end of the love of the woman you loved.

Remus kissed her then, and he tried to convey all the love, all the things he wanted to say but couldn't. All the words that jumbled up in his throat every time he laid eyes on her, all the emotions he couldn't describe, all the life changing things he made him feel, all of it, he put into that one kiss.

All Remus could do was hope, against all hope, that she understood. That through that kiss he had somehow managed to communicate how she had changed his life in ways no human being could describe with measly words.

"Remus," was all she managed to say after the kiss was over. Hermione had been affected by the kiss as much as he had been.

He didn't know how long it had been, but for that discourse to be done with he would have to kiss her just so for the rest of his life and still… it wouldn't be enough.

"Remus," she started after gathering her wits. "Remus, I know you have a chosen mate."

And just like that, it all came tumbling over.