A/N: I decided to give my readers a treat today. For those of you who do not enjoy anything too sexy, I tried to keep it as clean as possible.

I would like to thank all those that reviewed lately: Grace5231973, orthankg1, crazykat77, Eyes like Dawn, Guest, CharlotteAshmore, belle, and NinaGold. I'm glad everyone enjoyed the bedtime story one-shot with Rose and I also want to thank you for getting this collection of one-shots above 200 reviews.

Enjoy!

Turn the Page

Geographically speaking, the clock tower was the center of Storybrooke. Even though the tower housed her library, Belle was not biased enough to boast about the tower being the heart of the town. In her mind, it did not deserve that title. If any place was the heart of Storybrooke, it had to be Granny's Diner.

The diner was a buzzing hive from dawn until dusk. As early as seven o'clock, people swarmed the place, enjoying Granny's cooking and exchanging friendly good mornings and how are yous with the people whom they had known for twenty-eight years during the curse. At lunchtime, the diner was busiest with the lunch crowd drifting in, and all that could be deciphered was a low, steady hum of chatter pierced by the scraping of utensils on plates. The air was alive with the sizzle of burgers on the grill and the warm smell of deliciously cooked meals waiting to be served.

Just the sight of the diner made Belle's stomach growl nowadays. It was one of her favorite places in Storybrooke. Emotionally, this was the heart of Storybrooke.

"Just the usual today, Red," Belle ordered as she approached the bar and the waitress behind it. She planned to take her lunch back to the library and return to fixing up the place. It was almost ready to be opened to the public. Or she could order Rumpel's usual and surprise him at his shop...

Normally, it would take Red mere minutes to fulfill Belle's order. Today, she hadn't even moved a muscle or gave any indication of hearing the order in the first place. The reason was immediately obvious: Red was absorbed in a book. It consumed every ounce of her focus, her body half-sprawled on the counter, her eyes glued to the page, and a finger caught between her teeth. Her cheeks were flaming red and her pupils were noticeably enlarged.

"Red? Did you hear me?" Belle waved her hand in front of Red's face, but she barely blinked. The only movement she made was to shift her head so she could see the page beyond Belle's hand. "Wow, Red. I don't think I've ever seen you so enthralled with a book before. I take it that it's a good one?"

Red removed the finger from her mouth and rubbed her lips together. Then her lips parted to issue a deep, throaty moan.

"Ooh, yeah..."

Belle craned her neck to read the title of the book. The cover of the book was a seductive, smoky blue shade and contained a picture of tie. In fact, it looked like one of the ties Rumpel had in his closet. The silver letters in the corner read: Fifty Shades of Grey.

"Hmm...I've never heard of it," Belle admitted, though her curiosity was naturally growing as a result. It must have been recently published, which only encouraged her craving to read it. It surprised her when Red practically threw the book across the bar at her.

"Here, take it," she pleaded, backing away from the bar. One second ago, she had stared into that book like it held the secret to everlasting life. Now she seemed disturbed by it, as if the book were written with demonic messages that foretold the end of the world. "That thing is the reason I can't sleep at night! It's magical and deadly at the same time."

Red shivered violently. Then she fell into a trance, her fingers reaching out for the book before she could think twice and whip away, swearing it off completely. Belle could only watch her friend's odd behavior with concern. What kind of book was this if it enchanted and frightened Red so badly?

"If you insist..." Red nodded several times and pushed the book into Belle's hands. She appeared to be relieved once it was out of her possession, the spell wearing off.

"Better you than me. If Granny catches me reading that again at work..." Red dragged her finger across her throat. "Who knows? Maybe it will work wonders for your boyfriend, too."

Red winked, but Belle wasn't entirely sure what she meant. Had Rumpel ever heard of this book before? If it proved to be good, she might recommend it to him. Now that her mind was cleansed and back on track, Red returned to work. She had multiple orders to catch up on, including Belle's.

While she waited for her food, Belle chose a comfortable booth near the window and decided to dive into her new book. No harm ever came from reading a book.

...

Most nights, Belle made it home before he did. At sunset, she would finish up her work for the day at the library and lock up. Occasionally, she would stop at Granny's to grab a bit of dinner for the two of them before heading home, but she still made it there before him. His closing hours were a little later, around eight o'clock, though he sometimes closed up shop a half hour early since there wasn't much business to be done.

Today was one of those days when he chose to arrive home early, fully expecting a warm kiss at the door from Belle.

Something was different. When he stepped through the door, Belle didn't come to greet him, kiss or no kiss. The house was eerily silent. No whispers, no treading of footsteps on the floorboards, no crisp turning of a page to indicate that Belle was lost in a book. There was nothing but ear-shattering silence.

"Belle?"

No answer returned to him.

He limped down the hall, to the kitchen, only to discover that it was empty and dark. There were no plates or cups in the sink to give away Belle's presence, though he knew Belle insisted on washing her dishes immediately. Some habits were difficult to break, even after nearly thirty years.

A small tendril of dread wiggled its way down the nape of his neck. He scoured through the rest of the house for her. The living room crowded with antiques, both bathrooms, the bedroom upstairs where they spent many hours in each other's embrace...no matter where he searched, he could not find her. She wasn't even in his home library, curled up in one of the amber armchairs before a roaring fire. It would be easier locating a needle in a haystack.

He was starting to genuinely worry now. What would keep Belle from coming home? A book that snagged her attention for much too long?

On the fringe of a panic, he dug out his cell phone and dialed Belle's number. It rang in his ear, then went straight to voicemail. Rumpel hung up with his brain aching with thousands of terrible possibilities and his nerves shaking. Where is Belle? Still at the library?

He decided it was the best place to start.

Dashing back out the front door, he half-limped, half-ran along Storybrooke's Main Street until he reached the white double doors that served as the entrance to the library and clock tower. He took a moment to catch his breath and rub his knotted leg, his hand curling around the doorknob. Strangely, the doors were still unlocked and opened easily under his touch. Belle never left for the night without locking the doors. That meant...

She's here, he thought and released a breath he hadn't been aware of holding.

He poked his head into the library, scanning its interior for the woman who held his heart in her hands.

"Belle?"

"Uh...?" The tiny reply was slightly muffled and came from somewhere deep inside the library. She sounded preoccupied.

He softly closed the door behind him and ventured further into Belle's library, into the heart of Belle's world. The place was coming together nicely. The floors were polished, the dust swept away, the boards no longer blocking the windows, and the shelves filled with books, the pages overflowing with mysteries to be uncovered.

Belle wasn't behind the main desk. Skirting around some of the bookshelves, he found a humble reading area, consisting of a mohogany table covered with featured books and cushioned chairs surrounding it. Belle occupied one of the chairs. She was slouched down, her feet propped up on the table and her legs spread apart as though she were about to give birth. Just as he expected, her nose was buried in a book, the title obscured as the book lay flat on her knees. Oddly, Belle's face was flushed and her breath came in short pants.

Did she truly find books so stimulating?

"Sweetheart, it's getting late. I've come to bring you home," he said gently, in the manner of speaking to a delicate child. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she jumped. When her bright blue eyes turned to his face, he thought her pupils were larger than usual, the clear blue darkened and glazed with...lust?

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Rumpel. I know you must have worried when I wasn't home. It's just...this book is...unlike any I've ever read..."

He accepted her apology with a timid nod. Never would he condemn her for staying at her library longer than expected; it was a place that ensured her happiness. He was only glad she was alright.

Belle stared down at the open page in utter amazement. Now he was curious. What sort of book could bring about such a passionate response in Belle?

"May I see it?"

Carefully, he reached down for the book, inserting his thumb between the pages so he wouldn't lose Belle's place. Her hands loosened from it, letting the book go. Her fingers curled over air and she dropped her fists to her crunched belly. Meanwhile, his brown eyes were busy scrolling over the page, which featured a detailed contract of some sort. Ah, this was right up his alley! Let's see...

Oh.

Oh, my.

What in seven hells...? Caning? What did that mean? Did it mean...what he thought it meant? For a long moment, his gaze burned holes into the page, uncomprehending, then turned to burn holes into his gold-tipped cane. He never thought...it could be used that way before.

Have you ever been impaled on a cane before? It was one of his common threats, but in context of what he was reading, it sounded like a dark promise. Or did it mean...using it to...? No, he didn't want to think about that, either.

Visions of him and Belle, entwined in each other's arms while his cane occasionally encouraged a satisfied moan from Belle's throat wrapped around his brain like a thick, warm layer of caramel. Something strange happened below his belt-of course, he knew what that was. He only wished Belle did not have to witness his vulnerability.

"Where...where did you find this?" He gasped, out of breath from the vivid fantasies playing through his head. He wanted to take his eyes away from the book, but lacked the strength or will to do so. It cast a dangerous charm over his body, rooting him to the spot, churning his belly, and commanding his attention.

"From Red," Belle admitted. Her voice sounded far-off, dreamlike. He wondered if it was because she was still struggling to compose herself or if his mind could only handle one source of overwhelming emotion at once. Belle introduced him to feelings he hadn't experienced in a long time, but so did this book.

"That explains it," he murmured.

What did Granny think about her granddaughter getting her hands on this type of material? And now she had dumped it in front of Belle, who could no more deny a book than the alcoholic could deny one more drink. What did it mean, that he had caught her reading it so intensely? They had already made love multiple times, but they had never gone to these extremes.

"Belle, are you...dissatisfied...with what we do romantically?"

It was a difficult question for him to ask aloud, and he feared the answer. His first wife, Milah, had been nothing but dissatisfied after their first time together. Thankfully, that one time had led to Bae, because he and Milah never touched that way again. Had he somehow disappointed Belle, too? His heart hammered painfully in his chest and the book almost slipped from his grasp.

Belle looked stunned that he would ask such a question.

"Of course not! I love every minute I spend with you, Rumpel, whether I'm basking in your arms or having burgers with you at Granny's. Nothing will ever change that. I was just curious."

She was just curious. That was all the motivation Belle needed to pick up a book, no matter the subject. There was a natural thirst embedded in her system reserved for knowledge. Still, he couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief.

"Shall we head home?" He used an old business card from his suit to track Belle's place in the book, wedging it between the pages in place of his finger. Belle nodded silently, but she did not rise from the chair. Whenever she leaned forward or shifted her legs on the table, she moaned and settled back down.

"Rumpel, I'm afraid I can't move," she said breathlessly. "There's so much pressure..."

Her hands massaged her belly and abdomen. He bent down on one knee to examine her closely. It only took a moment to realize the problem Belle was dealing with.

"Ah, I see," he whispered, placing that infernal book on the table next to Belle's foot. How did he break this to her lightly? In a way she would understand without a shadow of a doubt? "Belle, you're aroused."

Belle looked at him in that thoughtful way when she was working out the solution to a problem, her pink lip caught between her teeth. Another vision added to the earlier ones in his mind, of sucking on that pink lip and hearing Belle mew beneath him. There were only a few ways to relieve Belle's symptoms, the most uneventful one being to wait it out until it passed. Enough for her to walk home, anyway.

A spark ignited in her eyes and she slowly took his hand.

"You know I have a habit of applying what I learn from books," she said, weaving her fingers through his. He froze in place, his breath stopping in his lungs. A rhythmic throbbing began below his waist.

"Are you suggesting...we should...?"

He looked to Belle's widely spread legs and the table on which they rested. Belle cupped his chin and turned his face back to hers. She was smiling in a way that unraveled him completely. The pressure was building, the throbbing picking up its pace, his blood on fire. He thought he might burst right then and there.

"Why not? It'll be a new adventure for us," she reasoned. He could swear, as he licked his lips ravenously, that her legs spread an inch or two wider.

His throat constricted and his vocal cords ceased to function. The only answer he gave was in the form of a kiss.

It started off chaste, his head bending down so that his lips brushed over hers. Then it rapidly transformed into the kind of kiss young children were not allowed to witness. It was like they had been two souls smoldering while apart; a single touch and their souls came alive with a burning, writhing flame.

Their kiss deepened, until he could no longer tell if his tongue had invaded Belle's mouth or if it was her tongue exploring his. She wrested handfuls of his dress shirt and pulled him into her, his cane falling away. Instinctively, he straddled the chair and her hips, resting comfortably between her legs.

The pressure was too much...

The fire was burning too powerfully to control...

He had no clue when it happened, lost as he was in Belle, but gone were the clothes-her dress, his tie, everything. There was only the two of them, their souls and bodies bared. When they finally joined together as one body, one soul, it provided Rumpel with a taste of heaven. Belle's petite body molded perfectly against his, her nails scraping his back, and his name a desperate chant on her parted lips. Rivulets of sweat rolled over his skin, his hands gripping the back of the chair above Belle's head, his own head whipping back as a tsunami of pleasure unlike any other consumed him.

This...was...bliss...

...

That night, Belle understood why the clock tower was the heart of Storybrooke. Just as blood pumped from the heart to every system in the body, their passionate cries were carried on the wind throughout the town.

...