Draco didn't give her time to think. Taking advantage of her slightly parted lips in surprise, he deftly slipped his tongue inside!
Several seconds later, both of them were nearing their limit, and Draco reluctantly ended the long, wet, and passionate kiss.
Then, embracing Hermione, who was already somewhat exhausted and whose cheeks were flushed, they pushed off the bottom of the pool and burst out of the water!
"Whoosh--!" The two of them popped their heads out at the same time.
They breathed in the fresh air deeply.
" Hermione Granger!" Draco, finally catching his breath, turned and accused her, "Are you trying to murder your husband?!"
"Who told you to sneer!" This time it was Hermione's turn to laugh.
I was just laughing at how cute you are!
"Laugh at you, my foot," Hermione said with a blank expression.
"Okay, okay, I won't laugh." Draco conceded.
"But Miss Granger actually threw herself at you? Your enthusiasm for studying... isn't it a bit too much?"
"Let go of me!" Hermione reacted and pushed against his chest, but she couldn't exert any force in the water. Instead, she just writhed in his arms, which made the friction between them even stronger.
"Don't rush me... Weren't you just planning to physically subdue me? Let's see if you break free first, or if I can get you under my control first..."
Looking at his sly grin and feeling the sensations emanating from his body, Hermione finally realized that she seemed to have fallen into this cunning peacock's trap once again! Was this pool training meant to teach her swimming or self-defense techniques?!
However, she wasn't without options. Hermione gave a sweet smile and made a peace sign.
"Would you like to try this?"
Upon seeing Hermione's gesture, Draco's smile instantly froze, his smugly raised head retracted, and he shook his head repeatedly. "No, honey, have mercy! That was an accident!"
"Then let me go!" Hermione pressed her advantage.
The scissors in his hand moved downwards.
"Give me a hug..." Draco tried to whine, but his arms loosened their grip, as if afraid he'd actually get snapped.
"Hold my head! Hurry up, I need to practice swimming!"
"Alright, alright." Draco had no choice but to let go.
"Stop showing off, or I'll give you a scissor." After saying that, Hermione withdrew her scissor hand, swam two meters away, and left Draco's range, placing her hand on the edge of the pool and watching him warily.
"I wasn't showing off, is it? Can't I even swim with you?"
"We can swim together, but it has to be freestyle."
"Alright, I'll be a proper sparring partner, and I promise I won't cause any trouble."
Draco toned down his cheeky grin and actually swam to Hermione's level. Without Draco's interference, Hermione indeed relaxed a lot.
She practiced the movements intently, round and round, until she was breathless with exhaustion, but her progress was clearly visible.
After swimming a few laps, Hermione leaned against the edge of the pool, panting, her cheeks flushed and her hair damp and clinging to her face.
Draco swam to her side, handed her a bottle of juice she had left on the bank, and leaned against the pool wall, saying seriously:
"Good job, Granger! You picked it up very quickly. But knowing just one swimming style isn't enough, is it? Would you like to learn a few more?"
"What... what trick are you planning to pull now?" Hermione took the juice, took a big gulp, and looked at him with a suspicious gaze.
"I swear to God, I'm really not playing this time," Draco said. "Breaststroke is less strenuous and suitable for long distances, and backstroke doesn't require using your hands."
"... Then teach me the breaststroke." Hermione blushed slightly as she recalled the embarrassing moment when she missed her target and was instead subdued.
"OK." Draco immediately switched into coach mode. He first gave a simple demonstration of the leg movements of the breaststroke on the shore. "Pull, turn, kick, squeeze," explaining everything clearly and thoroughly.
After Hermione understood, Draco had her practice kicking while holding onto the edge of the pool, while he carefully corrected her movements to ensure that her feet turned outwards correctly and that her kicks were powerful.
"Yes, that's the feeling. Don't use your calves to push the water; use the inside of your thighs and the outside of your feet."
Once Hermione's leg movements were somewhat in place, he taught her to coordinate them with her breathing and arm strokes. This time, Draco didn't cause trouble; instead, he swam beside her to demonstrate the movement trajectory.
"Raise your head quickly to inhale, lower your head steadily into the water... When your arms are pulling outwards, your shoulders should rotate accordingly..."
Occasionally, Draco would lean closer and offer pointers. "You need to tighten your core here, don't thrash around like a fish."
This purely instructional approach made Hermione a little uncomfortable. After learning the basic rhythm of the breaststroke, Draco briefly demonstrated the breathing techniques and floating posture of the backstroke.
"The most important thing in backstroke is to relax. Your body should float on the surface like a plank of water, your eyes looking up at the sky, and your ears submerged in the water..."
As he spoke, he lay comfortably on his back on the water, his arms paddling alternately, as if he were one with the water.
After listening, Hermione tried to imitate it.
Although the movements were stiff, at least it was able to float.
"Very good, much better than my first time." Draco swam over to Hermione and said, "Looks like you have good talent."
"Do you even need to tell me?" Hermione said proudly.
After learning three swimming strokes, the two were tired, so they went ashore and lay down on deck chairs to rest. Draco handed her a towel.
"How about that? Am I a professional coach?"
Hermione took the towel, wrapped it around herself, took a sip of water, and without looking at him, simply said, "Barely... passing."
"Tsk, those are high standards." Draco grinned and leaned closer. "So, as an outstanding student, are there any rewards?"
"Another reward!" Hermione grabbed a towel and smothered his face. "Don't even think about it! No talking, I want to sunbathe!"
Draco reluctantly removed the towel, unsure when the next reward would be, but at least he had gotten his share of benefits.
After resting, the two went back to their room and changed into comfortable casual clothes. As they were about to go for lunch, Draco suggested:
"Put on the Star of the Ocean; it suits you perfectly."
"It would be too flashy to wear this out, I'd feel a little embarrassed." Hermione subconsciously touched her collarbone, but Draco walked over, picked up the necklace, went behind her, put it on her, and fastened the clasp.
Hermione shuddered as the cool gem touched her skin.
"What's this about showing off? It's perfectly natural for Miss Granger to wear her husband's things," Draco declared domineeringly.
"... Do as you please. But don't talk nonsense outside." Hermione saw the deep blue shimmering on her neck, truly breathtakingly beautiful, and reluctantly agreed.
"Learn."
They had arranged to have lunch with their tennis buddies.
As soon as Hermione sat down, the ladies' eyes were involuntarily drawn to the center diamond around her neck—it was simply too beautiful.
"My goodness, Hermione!" Becky leaned forward to examine it closely. "Is that a diamond around your neck? It's huge!"
"The cut, the color... how many carats must it be? I've never seen anything so stunning," Becky exclaimed in astonishment.
Mary and Susan also cast curious and envious glances their way.
"Oh, this..." Hermione pulled her collar tighter to cover herself, and could only vaguely reply, " Draco bought it."
After saying that, she glared at the culprit beside her, "I felt it was too flashy, but he insisted on buying it..."
Upon hearing this, the women exchanged glances and rolled their eyes. Susan said, "Not cheap, is it? And the quality..."
"It's not expensive, just a few million euros, I doubt you'd even care," Draco replied casually.
The three men almost choked...