Belle let Adam lift her up in his arms and carry her to their favorite armchair by the large fireplace near the south wall of the library. He sat, still shaken and clutched her to his chest.
"Forgive me, love," he said softly, seeming ashamed of his weakness. "You must think me a terrible fool. You ask me to wed you and bed you today and I burst into tears like a 12 year old girl." Belle stroked his hair softly and fingered the rough stubble where his whiskers were beginning to grow in.
"You're not a fool," she contradicted, but she frowned in thought as she pondered his words. "Still, I must ask you. And you must answer me truthfully. Know that I love you, now and always. Know that I know you are not the same man that you were then. But I must know, please. Have you ever taken a woman against her will?" Belle was suddenly afraid of his answer. His beautiful blue eyes held such deep sorrow in them.
"I don't know," he whispered softly. "It's strange answer, I know!" he added quickly. "After all, how can a man not know? But you see, love, I am prince." He sighed and shook his head, pursing his lips in contemplation. "I truly do not think I took a woman against her will. Women came to me because I am a prince. There was never a marriage of love and lust. You want me to teach you the pleasures of the flesh. I think I must have been a terribly evil man, for as much as I know of how to achieve my own pleasure, I am afraid I know nothing of a woman's pleasure. I never cared to learn."
Belle watched as the guilt consumed her love anew. She wanted to stop it as she watched wave upon wave of it crash upon his soul. She said nothing for a time, though. He was right, he hadn't been a good man. But he had changed. Oh, how he had changed!
"You were not a good man," she finally said to him, stroking his face and making him look at her. "But you are a good man now. Few men have the courage to face their past, fewer still to change their ways. You have done both. You have fought a great battle of the soul and done much penance for the sins of your past. You know now the difference between right and wrong. And I promise you one thing," she smiled a wicked smile. "You will learn of a woman's pleasure, for I will not leave your bed nor allow you to leave mine without achieving all the pleasure there is to be had."
Adam gazed into her eyes and she was swept away by the passion she saw there. She felt his hand upon her calf under her skirt and thrilled to his touch.
"May I?" he asked in a deep husky voice? Belle found her voice had fled and so nodded. His hand skimmed higher to her thigh, skirting the lace edge of her drawers. She inhaled sharply. For all she had grown accustomed to his hands in her hair, on her neck, skimming her shoulders, and touching her waist, this was an entirely new sensation. She liked this.
Something that felt like wet fire bloomed between her legs.
"Adam?" she panted, hardly able to find her voice. "Is this the best place for such things?"
His breath was hot and heavy on her neck.
"Mmmm," he groaned in reply. "Not at all. Should I stop?"
"No," her whisper came out more like a squeak. "God no."
"Is this what you wanted, love?" he asked. "Is this how you wanted me to touch you?" Belle nodded against his neck, overwhelmed with sensation. The fire was spreading up through her belly, curling wicked tendrils into her arms and legs. Soon, she was sure, she would feel like jelly, unable to move or think or breathe.
His fingers skimmed higher to the place where her drawers parted, touching the soft curls he found there. His other hand grasped her waist tightly. She could feel the impossible length of him straining against his breeches and she moved her hands down to explore him, only to be stopped by his tight grip on her wrist.
"I beg you, love, don't," he breathed. "I have known enough of pleasure. Let me give this to you. Let me learn your pleasure. Let me give and please and find my penance in your ecstasy."
Belle smiled a wicked smile down at him.
"Take me to your bed, then, for god's sake. I would not have my father find us here." Adam groaned.
"Nor I," he agreed.