Chapter Six
Belle
I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. There were too many thoughts rattling around in my brain. I kept replaying my conversation with Adam from earlier.
Silly me to think he’d ever see me as anything other than Cora’s granddaughter.
I was his wife, but our sham of a marriage wasn’t enough for me. I wanted us to be a partnership in every sense of the word. I wanted to laugh with him when he was happy, soothe him when he was sad, and have him do the same for me. I wanted to snuggle up with him on the sofa and watch movies in the living room, bake his favorite sweet treats for him in the kitchen, and drive him crazy with lust in the bedroom.
My body throbbed to life at the latter, and I rolled onto my back with a groan, staring up at the ceiling. I’d turned up the heat in the last week, trying to tempt him by wearing more provocative clothing and getting up in his personal space—which had gotten me precisely nowhere.
But this evening at dinner, I’d caught a glimpse of something hiding behind his eyes, a vulnerability I hadn’t noticed before. He always seemed so strong and capable, so dependable. Was it even possible? Was Adam afraid of being hurt? By me?
The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became. He felt something for me, something far deeper than he was willing or able to admit because he was fighting it out of some misplaced sense of loyalty to Grams. There was something special between us, but he was as stubborn as he was loyal, and he wasn’t going to give into it without an extra push. I wanted to give myself to him, show him what he meant to me, and hope that I was enough.
Before I could change my mind, I threw off the covers, climbed out of bed, and made my way down the hall toward Adam’s room. My heart throbbed in my throat as I gripped the handle and silently opened the door.
It took a full minute for my eyes to adjust. I could just make out Adam laying on his back in the large bed. I stepped inside the room and quietly closed the door.
Shit! Was I actually going to do this?
Blowing out a shaky breath, I moved to stand at the foot of the bed.
“You need something, Belle?”
Adam’s voice made me jump, and I let out an embarrassing little squeak. The light from the moon fell across him as he sat up in bed. The covers fell to his waist, leaving his chest bare, and my mouth went dry. God, he was beautiful bathed in moonlight. He was beautiful in any light.
I swallowed hard. In for a penny… “Yes. I need something, Adam. I need you.”
I moved closer, coming to stand in front of him as he swung his legs around to sit on the edge of the bed. He was wearing a pair of boxer shorts that did nothing to hide the unmistakable bulge of his erection. Seeing the evidence of his arousal gave me the courage to do what I did next.
With trembling hands, I pulled my camisole over my head and shimmied out of my shorts so that I was standing before him completely naked. I’d never been naked in front of a man before, and I forced myself not to shield my body with my hands.
His face was in shadow now, but I knew his eyes hadn’t left me for a second. I could almost feel them burning an indelible brand into my hypersensitive skin.
I heard his sharp intake of breath. “Belle…” he rasped.
I reached out, cupping his jaw and sliding my thumb over his soft beard. “I want you, Adam. And I know you want me, too. But you’re fighting it because you think you’re betraying Grams’ trust, but you’re not. All she ever wanted was for us to be happy. Somehow, I think she knew that all we needed for that was each other.”
I bit my lip and held my breath, wishing I could see his expression more clearly in the dimness of the room.
Adam took another shuddering breath, and then his hands shot out, grabbing me by my waist. He tugged me toward him so I filled the space between his splayed thighs, his fingers digging into my flesh. Dropping his head forward, he rested his head against my breasts.
I tangled my fingers through his thick hair, tipping his head back so I could see his face. “Do you want me, Adam?”
His fingers clenched on my skin, and an expression I’d never seen before crossed his face—a mixture of desire and possessiveness and something else that had my stomach swirling with excitement.
“Fuck, yes, I want you, Belle,” he gritted. “Everything you said is true. I’ve been fighting this, fighting us, but I can’t do it anymore. I…fuck…I don’t want to do it anymore.”
My throat tightened at his words, at hearing the raw emotion in his voice. “I feel like I’ve been waiting forever to hear you say that.”
I started to move closer, but he grabbed my hands and held them behind my back. “No. Let me look at you. I feel like I’ve waited forever to see you, really see you,” he muttered, his eyes flowing down my body like a caress. “Christ, you’re beautiful. Gonna make you mine now, Belle. I’ve dreamed of this, of you, so many times…” He tugged me close again, cutting himself off by pressing his mouth against my quivering stomach.
Dragging his mouth up over my ribcage, he drew a nipple into his mouth. I let out a mewl of pleasure, digging my fingers into his scalp as he sucked hard on one sensitive nub before moving to the other. My legs trembled as he used his lips and tongue to bring them to hard, tight peaks. My pussy throbbed, and I squeezed my thighs together, trying to get some kind of relief from the ache.
“Is this what you need, sweetheart?” Adam asked, sliding a hand down to cup my pussy.
“Oh, God, yes!” I moaned, opening my legs wider to give him better access.