Chapter 35
35
JONATHAN
A dam sits across from me completely absorbed in his CraftWar Crunch. He’s cool, calm, collected, as if nothing at all happened last night.
Meanwhile I feel like I’m going to vibrate out of my skin.
Every time I think about last night, I feel my cheeks heat and eventually Ben asks why I’m looking at Adam funny.
“I didn’t think Adam liked your cereal,” I say quickly.
“It grew on me,” he says.
“It’s the marshmallows, right?” Mal asks.
Adam’s expression turns contemplative, his mouth twisting thoughtfully ( his mouth… ). “I think it’s the crunch. Once you get over the sweetness, it’s not half bad.”
“You’re not supposed to get over the sweetness. The sweetness is the point,” Mal says.
“Or you’re developing a taste for sweetness,” Ray says.
“Hmm, maybe.” Adam looks at me for the first time this morning. It’s only the smallest glance, but my stomach cartwheels.
As the children finish up their food and start rising to head up to school, he says, “Belle, do you have a minute?”
I nod, already anticipating the talk. I’ve been anticipating it since he practically leaped off me.
I stay seated while the others leave. Even Ray deserts me, slipping off into the passage on some mumbled errand.
“Before you say anything, I’d like to apologize.” I keep my attention fixed on my hands, pressed flat on the table. “I know what happened was out of line. It was the heat of the moment. It won’t happen again.”
“Won’t it?” He sounds amused. I look up to find him smiling at me, gaze soft. A shiver rushes down my spine. “That’s disappointing.”
It feels like the air’s gone thin. “You’d… you’d want it to?”
He hums softly. “Oh, I’d want it to.”
There’s the blush again. Even my ears feel hot.
“I wanted to find out how you’re feeling about it. I understand if you got swept up in the moment. We are isolated here. Don’t misunderstand me. It was enjoyable. Hell, it was the best kiss I’ve had in years. But it needn’t be more than that, Belle. You’re my employee. I’m, well, The Beast. Things are complicated.”
I swallow hard. “I probably shouldn’t want it. Not this badly. But I do.” I peer at him, trying to gauge his reaction. Is that too much?
His hands are also on the table, he’s mirroring my position, and now he slides them forward so that our fingertips brush. “I don’t know what this will be. We’re only here for a limited time.”
“I know. But I…” I watch our hands as our fingers twine. “I want it.” I want as much as I can, for as long as I can. Whatever he is offering, I’ll take.
When I look up, he’s smiling with the dimple on full display. “Good. That’s good.” He stands abruptly, nearly knocking over his chair. “I’ll uh, I’ll see you later then?”
I nearly laugh at his sudden awkwardness. It’s so uncharacteristic. “Later.”
I wonder about what later might mean all day. To the point of distraction from my lessons. When I return to my room after class, I find a note slipped beneath my door.
Meet me outside at 6 - A
Unbidden, a memory of a lad I fancied in high school fills my mind. He was fit, sporty, and embarrassed to be seen anywhere near me. Except after school when we’d meet behind the bike racks. I’ve received many such notes in my lockers and I taste bitterness at the back of my throat. Is that what Adam was offering? Something purely physical to get us through the next two months?
As in high school, I’m desperate enough to go anyway.
It’s drizzling when I slip out the house. The children are happily settled in the playroom and none the wiser about where I might be. Adam is waiting under an umbrella. He’s in a forest green cashmere jumper and dark jeans with his hair neatly braided. He doesn’t look like a guy sneaking out for a quick blowjob. In fact, he looks so good I feel at once self-conscious in my mismatched brown slacks and maroon cardigan.
He smiles when I approach. “I wasn’t sure you’d get my note.”
“This is very clandestine.” I step into the shade of the umbrella. He’s close enough that I can feel his body heat.
“Could have used a code, but then I’d be worried you’d get stuck decoding it and miss our date.”
Is that what this is? “You have so little faith in my intellect?”
He laughs. “Belle, if there’s one thing I have faith in it’s your smarts. Shall we?” He gestures ahead of us.
Twilight has fallen and he lights the way with a small penlight. We step into the shelter of the trees and the air is full of sound and the trailing scents of a spring day.
“Are you certain this is a date and you’re not taking me into the woods as an offering to the fae?” I say to break the anticipatory silence that’s fallen between us.
Adam chuckles. “What would I request of the fae? I have you here.”
My stomach somersaults. I shoot a look at him.
We step off the path and through the trees, and there’s the greenhouse, glittering with fairy lights, candles flickering within. My breath catches. It’s magical.
Adam opens the door and steps aside for me. “If we were living in normal times, I’d have taken you out somewhere. But we’ll have to play pretend.”
His workbench has been cleared off and set with candles and cutlery. In the center is a large charcuterie board of fresh fruit, cured meats and cheeses and a bottle of wine chilling in a bucket. Adam has gone all out. He really did mean date .
“Let me take your coat.” His fingers brush my neck as helps me out of my jacket.
I watch as he moves to the other end of the greenhouse, hanging our jackets alongside a blanket over the back of a wicker sofa that I never noticed before. Its wooden frame and green cushions make it almost disappear into the backdrop of plants. Does Adam sleep here sometimes?
“What about dinner?” I ask.
“I told Ray we had some very important work to do.”
“They didn’t notice you raiding the pantry?”
“I can be sneaky.”
Adam bends to light a small lantern on a table beside the sofa, giving me a pleasant view. I realize I’m staring and turn to examine the repurposed bookcase filled with pots and seedlings.
Adam comes up beside me and rests his hand at the base of my spine. “Want to meet my other kids?”
I flush with warmth. Other. It’s like he’s claiming the children as his. “Please.”
He lifts a succulent off the shelf. “Say Aloe to my little friend,” he says in a terrible Al Pachino impression.
I laugh. The seedling has long, curved leaves with tiny thorns along the edges. I’m guessing it’s an aloe vera.
“His name’s Spike,” Adam says with a grin.
He sets Spike down and shows me a leafy plant. “Fernie Sanders.”
A Rowan sapling is introduced as “Morgan Treeman” and he’s named his baby pear tree “Groot”. Then he holds out a Monstera and proudly declares it “Audrey Two”.
“What happened to Audrey One?” I ask.
He gasps. “You’ve never seen Little Shop of Horrors?”
When I shake my head, he tuts and sets the plant down. “We’ll have to remedy that after the pandemic.”
After. My heart sings. “What about this one?” I point out the spindly plant he was tending to when I saw him here before.
“Doesn’t have a name yet.” He lifts it up and passes it to me. “Why don’t you name it?”
I cock my head, examining the delicate leaves. “...Kevin?”
“Kevin!” He laughs.
“I don’t know! I don’t even know what it is.”
“It’s a Pomegranate”
“Oh, well Persephone is the obvious choice then.”
He pulls me to his side. “No, it’s Kevin. No take backsies.”
Adam sits beside me while we eat and we talk at length—about Persephone and how Pomegranates are supposed to grow in paradise, about the children and how they’re coming along with their lessons, about my siblings and home, and my favorite books and memories from the past. He asks more questions than he answers, listening intently to everything I have to say. The rain starts falling in earnest, drumming against the glass.
At one point I shiver and he wraps an arm around me. “Are you cold?”
“A little,” I confess.
He moves away, getting up to fetch my jacket, and I immediately miss his warmth. So I follow him. When he turns to hand me the jacket, I kiss him.
He hums approval, wrapping his giant arms around me. I press against his body, seeking his warmth and his touch. I pull away from his lips to nuzzle into his neck and kiss the delicate skin there. I don’t know what I’m doing, but this feels right. This feels more right than anything I’ve ever done before. I drag my lips along his jaw, savoring the tickle of his beard, meeting his lips again. They part for me and our tongues brush against each other. A frisson of exquisite electricity races down my spine as he cups my jaw, deepening the kiss. His mouth tastes like expensive wine.
When he pulls away we’re both panting and his pupils are dilated. He kisses me again, sweet, soft, questioning. In answer, I slide my hands down his chest. All my senses feel heightened. The softness of his jumper, the scent of his skin. I pause at his belt, looking up into his eyes as I move my hands under the jumper. He sucks in a breath as I rest my palms against his stomach.
“Cold?” I ask, apologetically.
He shakes his head. “Keep going.” His voice is even gruffer than usual.
He kisses my temple, my cheek, as I skate my hands up over his abs and pecs, trailing through his chest hair, enjoying finally being able to touch him.
“Is this real?” I ask out loud.
He laughs and catches my lips in another kiss. Then he steps back and pulls the jumper over his head. Adam stands before me bare-chested. The candle light plays over the contours of his muscles and I drink him in. I know that thousands of people have beheld this glory before. I know that. But here, in this greenhouse in the middle of the dark forest, it’s just for me.
“You’re so…” I say, but I can’t find a word that’s adequate. There’s nothing that encapsulates how good he looks.
He smiles as he closes the distance between us again and slides my cardigan off my shoulders. Then he starts at my shirt, undoing the button at the collar, then the next one down, looking into my eyes, watching my expression. When he starts on the third, he kisses me again and peppers a trail of burning kisses down my neck, then my chest, following his hands. He’s so gentle, his touch so light, like I’m precious. It’s almost enough for me to forget to be self-conscious. When he slips the shirt off, he kisses my shoulder and wraps his warm arms around me again. My skin is alive, my nerves endings vibrating with need.
Adam’s palms smooth down my back as he kisses the crook of my neck. “I’ve wanted you for so long,” he murmurs.
My stomach swoops. His hands drop to my waist, sliding around to cup my arse as he kisses my throat. I sigh, which quickly turns into a moan as he presses his hips to mine and I feel the solid press of his length against me.
He walks me backwards to the sofa. My pulse races and I can feel my heart beating beneath my skin. The look in his eyes makes his intentions clear.
On the sofa, he hovers over me, his broad shoulders moving under my fingers as he continues to kiss me. I’ve never been kissed like this before. I’ve never felt wanted like this before. He lifts my glasses off my face and sets them aside and covers us both with the fluffy blanket. Then he finally starts at my fly. I drop my head back, staring up at the canopy of leaves above us as I whisper his name.
His hand slips into my trousers and I arch into his touch. His breath is ragged as he palms my cock through my pants and we groan in unison.
“Am I going too fast?” he asks.
“No.” I press into his touch again and his eyes flutter closed.
He takes his time feeling me through the fabric slowly stroking my length, his forehead pressed to mine. I lift my hips, silently urging him on.
“It’s been a very long time since I did this,” he says, eyes still closed.
“We don’t have to.”
“That’s not— I want it. I really want it. I’m just… it’s been a while.”
I lift my head to capture his lips. “Will it put you at ease if I tell you this has already surpassed any other experience I’ve had?”
Adam runs his knuckles down the side of my face, just beneath the bruise that is now greenish-yellow. “Jonathan…” he whispers.
He kisses me softly and resumes stroking my prick through my briefs. “Blows my mind,” he whispers against my lips. “Blows my mind that anyone could not want you.”
With sudden boldness I hook my fingers into the elastic and pull down my briefs. My cock springs free and I blush even more furiously. He’s American. Is he expecting me to be cut? But Adam doesn’t hesitate. He spits into his palm, wraps his large fist around me and starts stroking my actual prick. I gasp, the feeling of his skin against my sensitive flesh exquisite. His thumb flicks over my glans, shooting pleasure all the way up my spine. I stare up into his eyes as he watches my expression, gauging my sensitivity, experimenting with the pace until I’m whimpering under him.
Pleasure is sweet and hot beneath my skin but I need more. I need to feel him . I unfasten his belt buckle and his jeans, fighting with the zipper to get to him. He laughs against my lips, canting his hips to give me better access. My exploring fingers are greeted by silk boxers and, beneath them, a cock so hard it feels like it can’t possibly be made of flesh and blood. He is circumcised, thick, sticky and hot. Hot for me. “Bloody hell.” I curse softly. “You’re… you’re fucking perfect.”
He moans as I take hold of him. “Gonna wash your mouth out with soap.”
“I can think of better uses for my mouth.”
The sound that comes out of him nearly pushes me over the edge. My cock lurches in his grip and he kisses me fiercely, almost painfully. I hook my legs around him, whining into his mouth as his hand starts to fly over my shaft. The blanket slips to the floor and I look down at our bodies, so nearly joined, our trousers pushed low on our hips. My cock is leaking, his is jutting out from his boxers, large and proud. Sparks chase across my skin at the sight. I bury my face against his neck, sucking and nipping, tasting salt and smelling arousal.
My pleasure is winding higher and higher. I’m surging towards that peak when Adam lets go. I cry my disappointment, but he catches my complaint in a kiss. He takes my hand from his cock and, before I know what’s happening, he’s drawing his length against mine. He’s so hard, and silky, and Adam . My body floods with bliss as he rubs his cock against mine, takes my hand and wraps it around both of us. He laces his fingers with mine, and together we stroke in unison, his velvet cock against my palm, my cock against his. It’s so incredibly intimate and hot . I had no idea I could feel this good. We grind together, and share a desperate, open-mouthed kiss as my balls tighten.
“Adam, I’m going to?—”
“I know. Let go. I’m here. I’m right here with you.”
Pleasure explodes down my spine, across my senses. Pulses of bright, white bliss flood my body and warm liquid spurts over our joined hands. A moment later Adam cries out and sags against me. I wrap my arms around him. I’ve never felt anything like this, like the mix of emotion and sensation crashing through me. My vision blurs and I blink back tears. It’s so much. So much I’ve been missing out on. So much I now have to lose.
Adam pushes up on his elbows. “I’m crushing you.”
“You’re not.” I pull him back down, keeping him pressed to me. I dig my fingers into his hair and wait for the crashing waves of emotion in my chest to settle.
Adam sighs happily, resting his cheek on my heart. “Pretty awesome first date, huh?”
My laugh comes out wet. “Yeah.”
He looks up sharply, and when he sees my face, he’s immediately up on his knees, brow drawn low. He cups my cheek, gaze full of questions.
“I’m fine. I promise, I’m fine.” A tear rolls down my cheek.
He brushes it aside with his thumb. “We moved too fast?”
“No. Not at all. I just…” my chest expands and I can’t seem to fit all the emotion inside it. I… feel like I’ve waited my whole life for this. I want to say. But it sounds pathetic. “It was so good.”
His gaze softens and he draws me into his arms and kisses the top of my head.
“It was a lot for me too,” he says quietly. “Can’t remember the last time it wasn’t just… physical release.”
Oh. Wow. How can so few words say so very much? I nestle my head under his chin. He rolls onto his back, holding me to him. We lie together like that, cuddling. The moonlight filters through leaves and rain to cast patterns across his skin. The flickering candlelight and soft twinkling fairy lights catch his contours. Here like this, it’s easier to imagine him fae than beast.
And then he’s touching my cheek, “Hey, time to wake up.”
I blink. Deja vu. I feel heavy and warm and safe. When did I fall asleep? The rain is still drumming against the glass. “Can’t we stay here?” I mumble.
“No can do.” He smiles down at me. “We’ve got cocoa to deliver.”