Page 58 of Tamed By a Passionate Lady
Adaline stretched, like a cat. She was still half asleep, but her body felt strangely heavy and inert. A deep relaxation that she had simply never experienced before.
As consciousness slowly returned, she felt other changes in her body. A slight ache, between her thighs, at the very core of her. A stickiness there, as well. But it wasn’t unpleasant at all. In fact, it felt wonderful.
Something else was happening to her, now. She felt a hand, gently stroking her face. Slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking rapidly.
It was James. He was staring at her intently, stroking her face. She was surprised to see that it was barely light in the room.
Memory suddenly flooded back into her mind. The night before. He had taken her, for the very first time. He had finally made a woman out of her. She was no longer a maiden, after all these years of being married.
And it had been simply wonderful.
She had been cautious, to start with. When he had so respectfully asked if he could kiss her, she had not known how it would go. In that moment, all that she had been intending was a quick kiss. She would retreat to her side of the bed, as she always did. James always respected the fact that she was hesitant, never pushing her, even though he often trembled with desire.
But she had become swept away when he had deepened the kiss. The wild sensations that he evoked in her had been simply overwhelming. She had lost herself as he kissed and caressed her, growing bolder with every stroke. She thought that she had died and gone to heaven when he had suckled her nipple. The sensations had been so exquisite she could barely breathe.
She had trembled with nerves when he had pushed her legs apart, touching her at her very core. But the anxiety had quickly fled, as he had expertly caressed her. The sensations had grown stronger, and wilder. When he had finally taken her, it was a relief to wind her legs around him, to urge him on. Something strange was building inside her, an almost bewildering climb towards something unknown.
When it had peaked in such a dizzying way, she had been unable to stop herself from crying out. She had never experienced anything like it in her life. And then he had cried out, too, shuddering with his own release. It had almost given her as much joy to watch him in that moment as experiencing it herself.
She had thought that she loved him, before. But now she knew that she was enslaved to him. She thought that she would simply die if he never touched her in the same way again.
She was feeling it again, now, as he kept stroking her face. She smiled lazily, reaching out towards him. But he did not smile back.
“James?” she whispered, her hand hovering in mid-air.
She sat up, suddenly, gazing at him. A strange fear was gripping her, almost twisting her stomach. He was still staring at her with that same intense gaze, but he wasn’t smiling at all.
“Adaline,” he said slowly. “My memory has just returned…”
Abruptly, her head began to spin in a sickening way. Desperately, she grasped the sheet, pulling it towards her, almost flailing.
Oh, no,she thought. No, no, no, no, no….
His memory had finally returned. She had always known that this day would come. But she had been hoping, blindly, that it wouldn’t happen yet. That she could have just a little bit more time with him, before he was lost to her once again.
He had only just made love to her. They had finally enjoyed each other, the way that a married couple should. And now it would be double torture, to lie beside him each night, knowing that he would never touch her in that way again. That his beautiful body was unavailable to her, just like it had always been.
And his love would have vanished, too. He would no longer care what she did. He would no longer gaze at her in admiration, listening to her carefully, as if he really cared what she said. His eyes would slide past her, now, like they always had.
It was all over.
She could not bear it.
Blindly, she stumbled from the bed, tripping in her haste to get away from him. Her eyes filled with impotent tears. What was the use in crying now? Her life was over. She would haunt this house like a ghost, year after year, withering away. Burning to nothing, with her useless love…
A hand was on her shoulder, spinning her around. He didn’t say a word. He simply pulled her back to the bed, stroking her feverishly. Whispering to her, underneath his breath, in a voice so quiet she could barely make out the words.
My love. My darling. Beautiful one…
She stilled, gazing at him, still unsure. What was happening?
***
He didn’t speak for a long time. When he did, he was still stroking her arm in an absent-minded way.
“It has all come back to me, Adaline,” he said slowly. “And there are things that you must know, about why I was the way that I was…before my fall.”
She nodded, cautiously. He stared at her, almost imploringly, as if he were willing her to understand.
