Page 44 of Tamed By a Passionate Lady
Without another word, they settled down, in the bed. Adaline leaned over, blowing out the candle on her bedside table. The room was suddenly in darkness.
She heard his quiet breathing beside her. How she longed to crawl over to him, to press herself against him. She longed to feel his arms around her, comforting her, telling her again how beautiful she was. How he burned for her every day and every night.
She had longed for this. She had dreamt of a time when he would finally begin to love her, as a woman. But now that it was happening, she was consumed with dread that it would all be snatched away from her.
She lay in the darkness, blinking back the tears. Perhaps it would have been better if this had never have happened. If he hadn’t awoken changed, and willing to love her, after his fall. Perhaps a taste of love, of what she might have had, was worse.
Because now she knew what it was like. She knew what it was like to bask in the sunshine of his admiration, to feel his desire for her. It was so beautiful and precious; exactly as she had always envisioned that it would be.
As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered. Perhaps it would have been better to always be in the cold than to have this brief taste of warmth, which would surely be snatched away from her at any given moment.
***
She twisted and turned, tossing from side to side, in the bed. She was dreaming.
She was at the top of the cliff, gazing out towards the sea. She knew that it was dusk by the colour of the sky; a strange, murky lilac, darkening by the second. In the distance, she saw a ship sailing along the coastline.
A lone light blinked sporadically from the top of another cliff. She frowned slightly, staring at it. It was a lighthouse, but she didn’t remember it being there at all. She didn’t remember how she had come to be here, either.
A strange buzzing, like a warning, in her ear. Her feet seemed to have a life of their own, leading her towards the edge of the cliff. She didn’t want to go. With every footstep she resisted it, but she could not stop herself. It was as if a cord was inexorably pulling her onwards, against her will.
She hovered near the edge. She had no choice. Sickeningly, she leaned towards it, looking down.
James was there. He was lying, broken, at the foot of the cliff, his limbs splayed at all angles. He was deathly pale, and she saw fresh bruises blossoming to life on his skin.
Her heart lurched violently. She opened her mouth to call his name, but no sound emerged.
An odd prickling, all over her flesh. Someone was behind her. She spun around, and he was standing there, gazing at her oddly.
Her eyes widened with alarm. “I do not understand,” she said slowly, her voice shaking. “You are lying at the foot of the cliff….”
He smiled sadly. “Yes, it is me down there. But I am here as well, Adaline. I have been split into two, and I cannot seem to figure out where exactly I should be…”
She stepped back involuntarily. “How can you be in two places at once?” Her voice was fearful. “It is impossible.”
He shook his head slowly. “Anything is possible. And I have been split into two.” He stepped towards her. “The man lying down there does not love you, Adaline. But the man who is standing here does. Which shall you choose?”
She gazed at him in horror. “I must choose? I must choose who shall live?”
He nodded calmly. “It is your choice. Who do you love more?”
She shook her head wildly, taking another step backwards. She felt the ground give way beneath her, and then she was falling through the air.
“Save me!” she cried, reaching a hand up towards the man, staring at her. “Please, will you take my hand…”
But he slowly shook his head, stepping back.
And now she was free falling, her skirts billowing out around her. The wind whipped her hair wildly, and with a sickening lurch, she knew that she was going to die. The bottom of the cliff seemed to rear up at her menacingly. She heard the soft hiss of the sea in the distance, and saw his body, lying on the rocks.
Suddenly, he straightened, gazing up at her, watching her fall. She knew now that there was no choice to be made. The man gazing up at her had a broken neck; his head was lolling at a strange, sickening angle.
“Adaline,” he called. “Come to me…”
She screamed, flailing her arms desperately, knowing that she was about to hit the ground…
She sat up in bed, her heart racing frantically. All was darkness around her. She heard her husband’s soft breath beside her. He was deeply asleep.
Slowly, she tried to catch her breath, to still her wildly beating heart. It had all been a bad dream. She was not falling over the edge of the cliff. All was well.
