The beat of the music was fast and urgent with an underlying sensuality that enticed people onto the small dance floor. There had been no plans to dance when they stopped at the café for dinner, but now she was tempted. It had just been an impromptu evening out, the first one they’d had in over a month, and they’d stumbled upon the café during their walk around town.

Hermione had been working on a project at work that had caused her to spend more time at work than home during the last five weeks, it seemed. There were circles beneath her eyes from just catching a couple of hours of sleep whenever she could. Charlie had been at the Colony for two weeks straight dealing with the hatchlings and a large group of new babies. He could probably have managed to come home just to sleep but her schedule was so chaotic as her department worked on the new legislation and did required reviews of over three dozen sites that he hadn’t bothered.

The inspections were done, the legislation had been submitted and actually passed to give lycanthropes more rights, and everyone in her department had been given a week off to rest after the last month. Charlie had finally made it back that morning, looking exhausted and wasting no time before he’d showered and napped. After he’d woken up, they’d decided to go out to eat to celebrate their reunion.

It had been awhile since they’d been out together like this, and she realized she missed it, missed him. He was still wearing his spectacles, putting them on to read the menu, and the watched the way the candlelight brought out the highlights in his ginger hair. He wasn’t good-looking in a pretty way by any means, far too solid and muscular to be called pretty. But she loved the rugged planes of his face, the broad shoulders and arms that were strong and made her feel safe whenever she was in his embrace, the freckles and burns that covered his skin, and the green eyes that showed his gentleness, mischievousness, quiet intelligence, and love for her.

When he looked up and caught her staring, a crooked smile crossed his lips. He reached across the table and took her hand, his thumb brushing across her palm as his gaze moved over her face. One song ended and another began, a similar beat and rhythm catching her attention. She nodded towards the dance floor and arched a brow. He shrugged and stood up, leading her towards the dance floor.

She moved into his arms, rolling her hips to the pulsing beat as they began to dance. His hand rested lightly against her arse, the other moving up and down her back lazily. She played with his hair, which he’d neglected to cut during the last couple of months so it fell nearly to his collar. The rolling tempo sped up and she moved along with it, rubbing against his leg and gripping his shoulder as she brushed a kiss against his jaw.

The hand on her arse squeezed lightly before he shifted and rolled their hips in an imitation of something else they’d not done in months. He dipped her back suddenly and she laughed when she straightened up, meeting his gaze and deliberately pressing closer before she straddled his leg and rolled her hips. His thigh was firm, much like the rest of his body, and she rocked against him in time with the rhythm.

He wasn’t much taller than her so he was able to nibble her neck easily as he danced them to a darker corner of the dance floor. She could feel his reaction to their dance against her hip and smiled with feminine pleasure at the fact she could do that to him just from a dance. Their gazes met and the rolling hips and rubbing stopped as he lowered his head and she leaned up. They kissed as the music continued to play, their bodies swaying together as the kiss deepened.

The song ended and another began, but they didn’t pay any attention to the fast beat. They danced to their own music as they kissed, building their arousal and excitement far more from the gentle, thorough kisses than any amount of rolling hips. Her lethargy dissipated as they danced and kissed, and he relaxed and smiled in a wicked way that let her know she’d be tired tomorrow for all the right reasons.

The End