Her fingers were clutching the back of her dress, holding it up, revealing her delicate ankles; a scar on her calf; a birthmark on the back of her knee. She was running up the stairs. Her free hand was wrapped around Adam's wrist, pulling him upwards. She looked at him over her shoulder: her eyes were smiling. Come with me, quick, I bet you can't keep up, they said.

Adam followed Belle through corridors and hallways and stairs and empty rooms. He let his eyes wander away from her for a moment: the castle looked different now that he was human again. The pillars were higher, the stairs steeper, and the walls weren't closing in on him all the time. He could breathe freely now, no longer a prisoner. His eyes shifted back to Belle, and he watched her move forward with such unstoppable resolve, pulling him along with her. She looked at him again, her lips parted in a teasing smile, and he felt his cheeks grow hot under her gaze.

Belle pushed the door to his room open and Adam closed it behind them. Something in the air shifted. Suddenly they were body against body, mouth against mouth, fingers interlocked.

He remembered wanting to kiss her a thousand times. Before the curse was broken, in the cold snowy wilderness, he'd looked at her and wanted to press his lips against hers. In the library, he'd dreamed of reaching out and touching her warm cheek with his fanged mouth. And just minutes ago, while dancing with her in the crowded ballroom, he'd wanted to lean in and kiss her again and again and again.

Now his reveries had become true. Here she was, lavishing him with love, and he could've sworn he'd never been happier.

He had kissed her two times before this – two wonderful but agonizingly short times. Their first kiss had been at the top of the tower, under a crumbling sky. The second instance was when she'd surprised him with a quick peck on the lips before the ball.

Now they were kissing again, but there was something very different about their frenzied movements; this time, their desperation wasn't prompted by loss or longing. Adam knew very well that what was stirring within him was outrageous and improper. He loved it. And as long as Belle did too, he wouldn't mind being outrageous again, just this once.

He wanted her. He wanted to explore her body. He wanted to make it jolt and curl and arch in pleasure. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and take her places she'd never been.

He held her a little closer. There was a challenge in her posture, a game on the tip of her tongue as she kissed him harder. Adam accepted the challenge, smiling into their embrace. He playfully nibbled at her bottom lip. She reciprocated by capturing his tongue between her lips and sucking on it. A wave of giddiness shook them both and they stumbled, softly colliding with a wall.

Belle felt Adam's back gently hit the wall behind him. She wanted to pin him there and kiss him until her lips bruised – or maybe have him push her against the wall and… oh the things that had crossed her mind ever since they'd entered this room. She wanted him. She wanted to rub her body against his, smell him on her hair, her skin, her clothes. She wanted to drown in him, loose herself in his arms.

Adam reluctantly broke the kiss to steady himself, pushing his back off the wall. At that moment, Belle slipped her hand between his thighs, and he gasped.

Under her trembling palm was evidence of his desire. Her first impulse was to tug at his breeches and undress him, but she fought it. She wasn't intimidated; her initial instinct was to let her passion run free, uncensored and unashamed. However, she reminded herself, she knew so little about this, and letting Adam lead the way would be such bliss…

She heard him breathe hard against her cheek. She shifted her hand, running it up and down the heat she could feel through his clothes.

"Belle," he groaned, letting his forehead fall onto her shoulder.

She shuddered. Her own desire had grown intense, unbearable. She continued rubbing her open palm against him as she brought her other hand up to pull at his jacket. He let her undress him, and she did so slowly, awkwardly, using one hand – the other she kept between his legs, intoxicated by the rough sounds escaping him.

She only stopped when she couldn't bear it any longer. She took a step back and looked at Adam. He stood shirtless and panting in front of her, his hair undone and falling in cascades over his shoulders. His pupils were dilated, his naked chest heaving. He was breathtakingly beautiful.

Let him lead, she thought, just let go and let him lead. Her body screamed for her to give in, right now. And so she did.

She walked back to the bed under Adam's hungry gaze. She let her dress fall to the ground. Very slowly, very deliberately, she undid her hair and slipped out of her undergarments. She reclined onto the bed, feeling the heat of Adam's eyes on her. She parted her legs and looked up at him.

He was breathing hard, looking at her in a way that made her shiver with lust. She was naked and vulnerable in front of him. Oh how she loved it. "Touch me," she moaned, shyly at first, then again with more confidence, "Touch me, Adam."

He staggered forward, quickly closing the distance between him and the bed. He then climbed onto the sheets and straddled her, eyes locked onto hers the entire time. He leaned in for a gentle kiss, and Belle reached up to run her hands through his hair.

And then her whole body jerked as she felt his fingers slipping over her private area. He stopped, pulling back to give her a worried look. "Is this alright?" he whispered, frowning.

She nodded repeatedly, touched by his concern but too aroused to give it much thought. "Yes," she breathed, "don't stop."

Adam's face relaxed as he placed his fingers over her once again, this time putting more pressure on the top of her mound. She writhed in response, eyes fluttering shut. It felt so good, and of course she'd done this to herself before, but it was nothing like having Adam's hands on her. He circled her nub with his middle finger, making her arch her back with pleasure. She could feel his warm, shuddery breath against her neck, and then his lips on the tender skin of her collarbone, sucking hard. She moaned, savoring the sensation of his hair caressing her cheeks.

"More," she panted, aware of how demanding she was being but oddly unashamed of it.

He parted her folds with his thumb and index finger, and she bit her lower lip in anticipation. He paused for a moment, then his voice rang in the room, deep and purring, "Look at me."

She opened her eyes. Adam was still straddling her, steadying himself with one hand on the bed, the other on her groin. His abdominal muscles were trembling, and – she couldn't help but stare – a bulge had formed between his legs, pulling his breeches tight over his body. The sight made her gasp; she had never been this close to anyone before, this exposed, this naked. Realizing that she was making him just as aroused as he was making her filled her with pride and ill-concealed excitement.

"Belle," Adam said. There was laughter in his voice, slightly teasing, mostly nervous.

"Don't stop," she said once again, meeting his eyes with hers.

His eyes. Impossibly blue, half-closed and gleaming with desire. She kept staring into them as he slipped a finger inside her, using his thumb to rub her clitoris. He moved very slowly, careful not to hurt her. "Are you comfortable?" he asked, and Belle couldn't help but smile.

"Yes," she replied, too shy to say anything more, although her mind was buzzing with words.

Adam started moving his finger in and out of her at a leisurely pace, placing soft kisses on her lips as he did so. She fought the urge to close her eyes for as long as she could, but soon it was too much; she bucked her hips and threw her head back, moaning in abandon.

Suddenly Adam stopped, and Belle groaned, disappointed.

"Wait," he whispered against her mouth, and then he pulled away, leaving Belle feeling cold and empty and aching for more.

Crawling backwards on the bed, Adam ran his hands over Belle's thighs. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him. His face was between her legs, his breath tickling her most intimate part, and his lips were parted. She trembled at the sight, mindlessly spreading her legs further apart. Adam took a moment to push his hair away from his eyes, then he lowered himself until his mouth was pressed against her entrance.

He looked up at her from between fluttering eyelids, and it was all she could do not to cry out in pleasure.

However, cry out she did when, a moment later, Adam's tongue slid over her in one long insisting swipe. He continued, encouraged by her moans. He twirled his tongue over and around her budding, throbbing nub. Belle threw her head back again, unable to contain a whimper of satisfaction. His hands gripped her thighs, holding her in place as he buried his face between her legs, licking in earnest.

"My God – Adam!" she sighed.

He groaned against her, and she felt the low rumbling in his throat crawl across her body, reverberating in every part of her and oh goodness this was heaven and it was too much, too good, too much –

She reached her climax with a strangled cry, thrashing against the sheets as Adam continued lapping avidly.

A few breathless moments later she opened her eyes. He was there, lying next to her, breathing hard but grinning, and she wanted to hold him against her and fall asleep right then and there. But Adam…

She reached out and slipped her hand between his legs. He batted it away, shaking his head. "That can wait for later," he spoke softly, "this was for you, only for you."

Belle wanted to protest, but her body was failing her. She smiled tiredly and snuggled against Adam's chest. "I love you," she said, hoping to convey the depth of her affection and gratitude.

"I love you too," he whispered as he pressed a tender kiss into her hair. "I love you too."