Although there is my opinion nothing that justifies an M rating in this update, please note that this part has a heavy T rating.
Part 5
"I thought you were hungry," Belle manages, her True Love's arms still wrapped tightly around her waist as he presses her lightly against the surface in front of her.
She surprises herself by actually getting the words out while Rumplestiltskin is doing all these unknown, wonderful things to her.
"Oh yes," he says, his breath hot against her neck, "I most certainly am."
His intentions have never been clearer, just like Belle has never been more aware that she is being touched by a creature who might not be entirely human, but who is still undeniably male. Anything might happen, but she isn't scared in the slightest. Whatever this may lead to, Belle is filled with none of the reluctance and trepidation she always presumed she would experience at such a moment when she was still engaged to Gaston.
She braces both hands on the surface in front of her in an attempt to remain standing while Rumplestiltskin sends the sweetest of sensations coursing through her entire body, moaning when he latches onto a spot somewhere below her ear which turns out to be unexpectedly sensitive.
Belle is slightly bent forwards, leaning on her arms, and he is plastered against her, mimicking the line of her body with his own. Her skirts move upwards a little as a result, exposing the lower part of her legs to the hot air surrounding them. Due to his close proximity, Rumplestiltskin's leathers brush directly against her skin, causing more warmth to pool in her stomach.
Belle's breath is growing heavier, matching the heaving of the man behind her, and perspiration breaks out across her skin at the combination of the nearby fire and Rumplestiltskin's more than welcome closeness. Hardly aware that she is doing so, she rubs her left leg across his, savoring the previously forbidden sensations of his smooth leather against her bare skin.
He grunts in response, the sound startling her if only because it contains such utter need. He pulls her tighter against him and she gasps at being pressed against him like this, every inch of his front flush to her back.
His hands are moving, one of them venturing upwards, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. His progress only stills when he is right below her breast, the back of careful fingers brushing against its swell so lightly that he might as well not have touched her there at all.
It evokes a want for more than just kisses and chaste caresses, a need for something Belle can't quite define. It's unfamiliar and overwhelming, but not in an unpleasant way at all. Just like the notion of being held by an unrelenting body, being ravished, would have made her uncomfortable at the very least after an upbringing defined by etiquette, she is nothing but excited and eager now that she is experiencing all those new and unknown desires with Rumplestiltskin.
Indeed, there is no fear or discomfort, or even the remote curiosity that she would have expected, when she finds something hard pressing against her lower back. Belle is rather sure what it is and what it can do, but this is not the time to think of particular sections of the anatomy books which she used to read in secret.
After all, nothing in those scientific texts could have prepared her for the size and firmness of it, right through the material of their clothing; for his whimpers and her own shallow breath, for how good it feels to have him push it against her.
"I've dreamed of this," he whispers, both the hoarse admission and his hot breath against her skin only inflaming her more.
"I will from now on," Belle manages, previously completely oblivious to the possibility of any of this, but by now beyond fascinated by all the new things he is showing her. She knew of True Love's kiss from the stories she liked to read, heard whispers of the unrevealed secrets of the marriage bed, but not in her most wicked fantasies there had been anything like this.
"You don't have to dream," he replies, his voice rough in a way that sends only more heat coursing through her. "If... if you would have me, I'll try to..."
His self-doubt is resurfacing and that just won't do. This one time, Belle just has to shut him up. She wants him and she can't allow for any ambiguity in that regard. She doesn't know what she's doing, not really, but she senses that there's no such thing as doing anything wrong, not while sharing this with Rumplestiltskin.
She is aware of the way he is rubbing himself against her, groaning slightly louder each time he does. Presuming that it feels as good to him as it does to her and that increased contact adds to whatever it is exactly that is building between them, she lightly pushes herself back against him, using her hands on he surface before her for leverage.
He howls as she does so, driving his hips firmly into hers, and his open-mouthed kiss on her shoulder turns into a bite of which she can tell that it's involuntarily. It hurts, but only slightly. More than anything, the combination of the friction between their bodies and his teeth against her skin has pure pleasure rushing throughout her.
Her eyes widen at that unexpectedness of the development, but much more so because of the blinding heat that it causes within her. It's more powerful than anything they have shared before and she groans involuntarily in reaction, the sound unlike anything she made before - completely unlike anything she thought herself to be capable of making in the first place.
Rumplestiltskin removes himself from her immediately. He spins her around so she faces him once more, taking his hands off her right after he has done so. Belle is dizzy by the sudden movement and the pleasure of just before it, making a disgruntled sound at being separated from him like this.
"Did I hurt you?" he asks, eyes frantically searching over her and narrowing when they focus at the spot which must be the one where he accidentally bit her.
"You didn't," she hastily replies, understanding now why he stopped so abruptly and wanting to reassure him that he didn't inflicted any actual pain. "It stung, a little, but..."
"But what?"
He is looking so lost again, so afraid, and if it weren't for the urgency of the situation, she would have wondered how he could doubt himself so much while being able to make her feel so incredibly wonderful.
"It's... lovely," Belle says, yet more blood rushing to her cheeks as she tries to explain to him just how amazing it felt to be touched by him like that, even - especially - when his teeth marked her. "It is... more than lovely. All of it is."
"Indeed," he mutters, not quite looking at her. If his still labored breath and darkened cheeks - would it be possible for him to blush? - are any indication, he agrees with her much more than that single word implies.
But then he awkwardly steps away from her, straightening his clothes and visibly schooling his expression. Just like that, he is once more the man who doesn't quite know what to do with himself, who doesn't believe that anyone can care for him, let alone love and want him.
But Belle has seen so much more of him now and she knows that the man who wants her more than anything, who can make her toes curl without apparent effort, is right beneath the seemingly indifferent exterior.
"It looks like I've got a lot to learn," he adds, more self-depreciating than ever. It reminds her of what he told her before, of how long he has been alone. Again, Belle wonders of the wife he doesn't talk about, of how utterly surprised he is not only by her acceptance of him, but also by her... wanton reaction to him.
"We have a lot to learn," she says, hoping to convince him this way that this is unfamiliar to her as well, and that she's more than willing to find out with him just how they can enjoy one another without accidents. "And we will."
Her words are accompanied by a decisively wicked smile that leaves no doubt this time that he is actually blushing. Indeed, she is really, really looking forward to the learning process which is ahead of them.
"I'll just leave you to it, then."
Belle realizes what he is talking about only when he gestures in the general direction of the stove. He mutters a spell, making an end to the blue haze that lingers above the pans. He must have used magic to ensure that the food didn't burn just before they got distracted by a whole different sort of fire.
"Thank you," she says, knowing that she would have had to start all over again with the preparations for their dinner if it weren't for his earlier interference.
"No matter," he replies, sitting down at one of the new kitchen chairs, turning it to watch her while she works.
Her desire for him for the time being exceeded by her hunger for actual food, she goes back to work. She hums happily as she bakes the potatoes and prepares the bacon and vegetables to go with it. Rumplestiltskin never takes his eyes off her, his gaze almost tangible even when her back is towards him. It provides comfort of a sort she wasn't aware of until before.
Casting a glance at him whenever her work allows it, she is increasingly aware of how ordinary they look like this. Ignoring the magically replenished food and the luxurious tableware, the pleasant fire and modest furniture which fills the snug kitchen could be part of any home.
It's domestic in a way she never expected her life to be, either before or after her deal with Rumplestiltskin. It looks like she isn't a knight's daughter from a war-torn land and he isn't a dark wizard, and she's loving it. Even without the hearth's fire, which softens his features yet further, it's obvious that he's thinking among similar lines.
Diner is ready half an hour later and Belle fills both their plates as soon as she can. Rumplestiltskin all but attacks his food the second she pushes it in front of him.
They mostly focus on their meal in the beginning, both of them hungrier than they cared to admit. But as soon as their plates are empty and she helps both of them to a second serving, their attention quickly returns to each another.
They are sitting opposite one another, much more closely and comfortably than they ever were at the large table in the main hall. Rumplestiltskin is still eating as if he was previously on the brink of starvation, but his gaze is focused on her once more instead of the food in front of him.
Belle would be surprised by his capability of not spilling any food while not paying the slightest attention to his meal while he eats, if she weren't far too busy dividing her own focus between the man sitting opposite her and the much-needed food in front of her.
Rumplestiltskin praises her cooking skills in between several mouthfuls of food, making her only happier and more flattered. A faint blush returns to her cheeks in response and the appreciative glint in his eyes tells her that he is very much aware of it.
It makes her wonder how it's possible that a man who possesses such riches can look at her like she is the only thing of value in his entire castle... the only one to matter to him.
Putting down his knife once he doesn't need it anymore for the time being, he gradually moves his now free hand towards her. He lets it rests on the wooden surface right below the two of them, as if afraid to get any closer to her.
Accepting the unspoken invitation, Belle covers his hand with her own, caressing him lightly. She may have touched him before, but each time there is a kind of magic that couldn't differ more from his dark tricks and mischief.
It's wonderful to be able to touch him like this, to bring out that beautiful, tentative smile she has seen so rarely before. The few times that she did, Belle couldn't have imagined anything like this.
In a way, they're exactly the way they used to be, before he sent her away, and yet they're so much more than that. There is the same friendship and loyalty as before, a fondness that grew between them against all odds. But there is love now as well, True Love, and a desire that she couldn't have imagined until a few hours ago.
He lovingly squeezes her hand, his smile broadening. Wonderful as their reunion has been so far, this is only the beginning. If they continue to be as honest and open as they can, things between them are likely to get only better.
His expression is completely unguarded for once, tender and trusting. It has never been clearer to her that he wants this as much as she does, that she wasn't the only one who secretly hoped for something like this for a considerable time. To her great relief, Belle can tell that he intends to fight for this as much as she is prepared to.
Finally, Rumplestiltskin knows just as well as she does that they can have what they have dreamed of - that their happy ending is within reach after all.